ignite
by envysparkler
Summary: It only takes one spark to start a fire. - Pyromaniac, volume 1.
1. anything that can go wrong

**a/n:** This is the _fourth_ time I've revised this. The concept of this story was devised four years ago, and apparently, my mind rejects the very plot. Hopefully, this version of the story will work. This is the revised, revamped, and _completely_ different story of **Freezing Fire**.

And it's not even called **Freezing Fire** anymore.

…And okay, it's not _completely_ different. The original story took place in a camp attended by Inazuma Eleven canon characters now at high school and six OCs. [And yes, the OCs' names were all ridiculous, non-Japanese names like Rukia Nightshade, Rani Maiya, Kiki Hayes, Neci Kamlyn, Sakshi Reddy and Nixie Assane.] I'm also pretty sure none of my OCs were actually Japanese.

And before you go running away, screaming in terror, I've fixed that problem.

The plot of the original story had these six OCs go to a camp with an evil camp director where _enemies_ had to _share cabins_ and _winning_ was the _highest priority_ and _those that survived would find true love._

And yes, that was how I wrote it, too.

Needless to say, it sucked. However, for some strange and inexplicable reason, my friends actually _liked_ it. [The six people I based my six OCs off of. Yes, I _was_ that dorky.]

And because my best friend – one of the people who loves this story the most – is turning eighteen, this is my birthday present. [And, yes, I'm _aware _that it's four months late, Juice.]

_This_ story is about six girls – Katsushika Harukichi, Higashiyama Akane, Abukara Shiori, Satoya Hiroe, Arakida Seka and Ippitsusai Tsukiyama [see! They're Japanese names now!] who are basically the same characters except this time they're not Mary Sues.

Hopefully.

Anyway, the story is set at a camp and there _is_ an evil psychotic bitch running around, but that's where the similarities end. The camp director is not evil, there are no cabin arrangements made _specifically _to group together people who hate each other and there are no activities vital to the plot. I tried to include the last one, but apparently, four plots is the limit, and that's only as long as two of them are sub-plots.

So, this isn't going to be as long as **Freezing Fire**, primarily because it's a mix of humor and drama and this careful mixture can only be maintained for so long. Hopefully, it's also easier to relate to the OCs.

This is a story about friendship, betrayal and how the simplest of actions can have unimaginable consequences. How a butterfly flapping its wings can change the course of destiny.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. [Four rewrites aside.]

**dedication:** To my best friend on her eighteenth birthday and to the original six that inspired this story.

**summary:** It only takes one spark to start a fire. – Pyromaniac, volume 1.

* * *

**ignite**

**chapter one – **_**anything that can go wrong**_

* * *

In retrospect, it all started with the silly little bet.

Everything was fine before that. Sure, her friends were running around like headless chickens trying to get into the universities of their choice and cramming for entrance exams, but it was sane. Normal.

But then Akane had the brilliant idea of playing matchmaker. After her relationship with Hiroto ended messily, she had been going around trying to set everyone else up. Hiroe blatantly refused her. Tsuki and Shiori already had boyfriends. Seka had just gone through a break-up of her own. And so it fell to Kichi to humor her best friend.

It really _was_ a silly bet. Stupid, too. If Kichi ever needed to provide proof that her best friend had gone crazy juggling the duties of being the heir to Higashiyama Enterprises and trying to get into Tokyo University, the bet would be Exhibit A.

Well, no, Exhibit A would be those scandalous pictures Kichi had taken last week of a drunk Akane acting a little too friendly with her ex-boyfriend's best friend. Akane and Gouenji _hated_ each other – well, Akane hated Gouenji, anyway. Kichi had noted the flicker of interest in Gouenji's eyes on many occasions.

Whenever Akane had started losing her mind, it cumulated in the bet. It started out simple, actually – all she had to do was go up to a guy and kiss him. They were playing Truth or Dare in Kichi's house and they were all probably a bit drunk and after a series of escalating dares, that was what Kichi ended up with.

She'd shrugged and agreed – it wasn't like she'd never kissed a guy before. Unfortunately, Akane had other plans.

Kichi could still remember the glint in Akane's blue eyes as the girl told her that she had to seduce Sakuma Jirou.

* * *

Kichi groaned and leaned her head against the window, watching the scenery flicker by. "Why am I even here?" she moped, seeing trees stretching out into the endless distance.

"You're the one that said that seducing Sakuma-san required careful planning and a proper environment," Hiroe said flatly, flipping through a sports magazine.

Kichi frowned, "When did I say that?"

Hiroe paused and thought for a second, "I'm pretty sure you were drunk."

"Why do you people let me talk when I'm inebriated?" Kichi wailed, sniffling with fake sobs.

"Because it's so very amusing," Akane's head popped up from the seat in front, grinning a shark-toothed smile, "And where did you learn the word 'inebriated' anyway?"

"Fuck you," Kichi hissed and made a rude gesture. Akane just laughed.

"You might want to save that for Sakuma-san," Seka's head joined Akane's, smiling sweetly.

At the front of the bus, Kichi could see the boy in question turn, frowning slightly, as if he'd heard his name being called. Luckily, he was distracted by the sight of Kidou and Fudou fighting and Kichi could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Shut up!" she glared at both of them, "If you keep on shouting at the top of your voice, he'll hear you!"

Akane shrugged, "I don't particularly care." She smirked and turned to face the front of the bus, "Hey! Guess what, people! Kichi's going to sed–" Kichi quickly clapped a hand on Akane's mouth, restraining her.

Twenty people stared back at them, curious. Kichi gave a strained smile, pretending like her face wasn't discovering new shades of red. Akane made a muffled sound that Kichi took to be laughter.

Slowly, they all turned back to face the front, though Kichi could see Tsuki's stifled giggles from her position next to Midorikawa and Shiori smirked at her before continuing her discussion with Reina.

"I am going to _kill_ you," Kichi hissed into Akane's ear before letting her go.

"I'm so scared," she said nonchalantly, turning to sit properly in her seat.

"No, seriously," Kichi informed her solemnly, "I'm going to hire an assassin – no, that would be too quick. I'll hire a psychopath. A psycho killer. A psycho _serial killer_."

Akane's scoff told her what the dark-haired girl thought of that threat and Kichi glared at her before settling back into her seat and watching the scenery go by, her mind on vengeance.

She had no idea how prophetic her words would prove to be.

* * *

The camp was small and boring and Kichi spent the first half-hour praying for something, _anything_ to happen.

"Why did we come here, anyway?" Tsuki said, eyeing the surrounding foliage with critical gray eyes, "The forest is creepy, the beach is full of sharp rocks and the humidity is frizzing my hair!"

"Kichi wanted a proper environment to seduce Sakuma," Akane informed her, flipping through the brochure they'd been given upon arrival. The small, mousy-haired director of the camp had given them the brochure, the list of planned activities and their cabin arrangements before setting them loose to wander the area.

"You call this a proper environment?" Shiori laughed, scanning the commons. It was in the shape of a rough circle, with logs surrounding the bonfire in the middle. On one side, the six four-man cabins, the administrative building and the canteen were arranged as a barrier between the woods and the commons area. On the other side, the commons opened up into a few dirt-packed fields and the rocky beach.

"Next time, sweetie, buy some candles and rent a penthouse," Shiori advised her.

"And what do _you_ know about seduction?" Kichi growled, irritated that a stupid dare had led them to this backwater camp.

"A lot more than you," Shiori said, smug, "I, after all, have a boyfriend."

"Or you say you do," Akane muttered under her breath. They had still not met Shiori's boyfriend – she was keeping his identity secret from all of them. That naturally led to suspicions.

"Shiori's many things but she isn't pathetic enough to make up a fake boyfriend," Hiroe said calmly, watching the impromptu football match that was taking place on the field. It was shirts against skins and Kichi noted appreciatively that Sakuma was on the skins side. The late afternoon light glinting off the ocean really did wonders for his muscle tone and his eyepatch led a rather mysterious air to his whole appearance…

Kichi ruthlessly severed that train of thought before it could go any further.

"Thank you," Shiori smiled, "At least _someone_ believes me – hey! That was an insult!" Hiroe just smiled at her.

"If we're here, all we can do is make the best of a bad situation," Seka said reasonably. Kichi gave a sigh of relief – at least Seka was on her side.

"And how do we do that?" Tsuki asked, pinching a lock of limp blonde hair between her fingers and looking irritated.

"We can entertain ourselves by watching Kichi try to seduce Sakuma by the end of this trip."

Kichi's sigh turned into a groan.

* * *

"What do I do, Hiroe?" Kichi said plaintively, "I don't know the first thing about him."

Hiroe looked up from where she was digging into her suitcase and shrugged at Kichi, "You know that he's an internationally famous football player."

"That's just it!" Kichi wailed, "He's a celebrity and how did I ever think I could do this?"

Hiroe raised an eyebrow, wondering where Kichi's sudden inferiority complex had come from. "Kichi, you're practically a princess," she enunciated. The House of Katsushika was an ancient noble family and although her father had left it years ago, Kichi still had the wealth to back up her family name.

There was silence from the other side of the room and Hiroe rolled her eyes before digging through her suitcase again. She could've sworn she'd packed a softball _somewhere_…

"What if I don't do it?" Kichi speculated, "I mean, it's not like I _have_ to, or anything."

"If you don't do it, then Akane has the right to decide your punishment," Hiroe said absentmindedly. There was again silence as Kichi contemplated the utter horror that would be Akane's punishment.

Hiroe paused in her search to smirk – Akane would be quite vicious, especially after Kichi decided that if she had to suffer, then the rest of them would suffer too, and dragged them all here.

"_Hiroe_," Kichi whined, flopping her head over the railing of the top bunk to give Hiroe an upside-down pout, "Help me!"

"How?" Hiroe asked, unable to hide the small grin. Oh, the situations Kichi got herself into… "I've never had a boyfriend. You're better off going to the others for help."

Kichi groaned, "Considering how Akane's relationship ended, she's the last person I'm asking for help. Tsuki-chan and Midorikawa-san just whisper sweet nothings at each other. I'm not quite sure Shiori even _has_ a boyfriend. And I don't want to bring up Suzuno-san with Seka because I'm pretty sure she'd skewer me."

Hiroe nodded in silent agreement – Suzuno's break-up with Seka had been brutal and the mere mention of his name caused Seka to go into a cold fury.

"Roe-chan, _please_," Kichi made puppy-dog eyes at her. However, with Kichi's current, contorted position, it just looked deformed.

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Hiroe said, irritated at Kichi and her inability to find the damn softball, "If you don't know anything about him, find out! Go talk to him. He's undoubtedly going to find it strange if some random girl comes up to him and starts seducing him. And you only have like five days, you know."

Kichi groaned again, "I'm doomed."

Hiroe ignored her dilemma, smiling in victory as she finally found the softball. At least something was going right today.

* * *

"Who're you texting?" Shiori didn't look up from her phone at the sound of the overly curious and hyperactive voice.

"Isn't Midorikawa-san supposed to have you on a leash?" Shiori asked, "It's detrimental to our safety to have you running around."

"Haha, Shi-chan," Tsuki rolled her eyes, "You're hilarious."

There was a pause where Shiori contemplated various insults and waited for a reply to her message.

"Who are you texting?" One thing that they could all count on was Tsuki's persistence in sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"My boyfriend," Shiori said curtly, hoping the harsh tone would drive the blonde away.

"Ooh, you mean he's _real_?" No such luck.

"Of course he's real, I'm not sending texts to myself!" Shiori snapped back. She was tired of her friends sniping at her and inserting 'imaginary' in stage-whispers every time the topic came up.

Tsuki shrugged, completely missing the anger in Shiori's tone, "Akane doesn't think he's real but Roe-chan says to stop bothering you about whether he's real or not. Kichi-chan just wants to know who he is – she's incredibly nosy like that."

"Pot meet kettle," Shiori muttered, finding it very amusing that _Tsuki_ called someone else nosy.

"When will we get to meet him?" Tsuki asked, bouncing up and down.

Shiori eyed her suspiciously, before shaking her head, "I don't know. We'll have to set a date." And inside her head, she thought, _never_.

"Did he come to this camp?" Tsuki asked eagerly.

"Why don't you go bother someone else?" Shiori huffed, letting her irritation mask her surprise – Tsuki's intuition, as always, was dead-on.

"Like who?" Tsuki asked, watching Shiori's phone as it beeped with a reply. Shiori carefully tilted it so that Tsuki couldn't see the sender and typed back.

"Like…Akane," Shiori picked a name out of thin air, concentrating on her message, "Why don't you go ask her what's going on with Gouenji-san?"

As she suspected, Tsuki latched onto the merest mention of gossip, her gray eyes glinting, "What's going on with Gouenji-san?"

"They're spending a lot of time together," Shiori told her, smirking when she remembered the photos Kichi had taken. They had yet to confront the dark-haired girl about them – the two of them had decided to wait until after the bet. Shiori, because she couldn't care less and Kichi because she wanted blackmail after the whole seduction thing.

"But…Akane-chan hates Gouenji-san," Tsuki said, worrying her lip between her teeth, "Ever since first year."

"Ah, but does Gouenji-san hate Akane?" Shiori said slyly. It was enough to bring a smirk to Tsuki's face.

"They spend all their time fighting," Tsuki pointed out.

"Akane will self-combust if she has no one to fight," Shiori laughed, one eye on her phone, waiting for a reply, "Look at her last boyfriend – Hiroto-san gave her everything she asked for and we all know how that ended up."

"Yeah," Tsuki said mournfully, "Poor Akane."

"I thought it was hilarious."

"Shi-chan, that's mean," Tsuki narrowed her eyes, "Akane-chan and Hiroto-san were together for a whole year, and for them to end up like that…"

Shiori just waited with a raised eyebrow.

Tsuki folded, "Alright, it was kinda funny."

Shiori laughed and turned back to her phone as it beeped with another text. Luckily, Tsuki didn't notice, her eyes narrowing as a smirk spread across her face, transforming her features into a shark's predatory grin.

"Akane and Gouenji, huh?"

Shiori made a mental note to apologize to Akane after this whole thing was over.

* * *

"Hello," Kichi smiled and hoped that it didn't look as artificial as it felt. Sakuma looked up from his dinner tray and just blinked at her.

"May I sit here?" Kichi kept grinning, trying to keep the blush off her face as she held her dinner tray.

Sakuma blinked some more, clearly surprised, before giving her a tentative and confused smile, "Sure." Kichi sat down, inwardly relieved – if she had to stand another second, she was pretty sure her legs would've given out in nervousness.

"I'm Katsushika Harukichi," Kichi dropped the grin – it was hurting her face.

"I know," Sakuma smiled at her and Kichi felt her face grow warm, "You're in my class, Katsushika-san."

"Please, call me Kichi, Sakuma-san," Kichi fervently hoped that she wasn't as red as she thought she was.

"And I see you know who I am, Kichi-san," Sakuma said, and the glint of amusement in his one visible red eye told her that she was fighting a losing battle. "May I know what prompted you to come sit here?"

"I…" Kichi swore she heard Akane's pealing laughter in the distance, "I just wanted to get to know you."

The whispers had already begun as people turned around, wondering why she was sitting with Sakuma. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kidou and Fudou approach their table before Fudou saw her and stopped, yanking Kidou back. He smirked at them before pulling Kidou to a different table. Genda followed them, a raised eyebrow speaking volumes about his bewilderment.

"Oh," Sakuma replied, clearly not knowing what to say to that. He blinked and looked at something behind her, his amusement becoming more pronounced, "Your friends are looking at us and laughing."

Kichi felt her face grow hotter, "Ignore them." She kept her eyes trained on her dinner tray, using a spoon to prod the cup of jello. "I – um," Kichi stuttered – what the hell was she supposed to talk about? "Who won the game?" she finally blurted out, cursing Hiroe and her stupid advice.

"What?" Sakuma asked, confused.

"The football game," Kichi said, "Who won the football game?"

"Oh," Sakuma laughed, realizing she was referring to the match that afternoon, "The girls' team."

"The girls' team?" Kichi frowned, "I thought you were playing shirts on skins." Her face turned a brilliant shade of red when she said 'skins' but thankfully, Sakuma didn't seem to notice. Kichi wondered what was wrong with her – she had never felt so much like a child.

"Yes, but the girls were all on the shirts side," Sakuma said, smiling. He had a nice smile. The edge of it crinkled up to where the metal eyepatch bit into his cheek, covering his right eye. Kichi wondered what had happened to it. "We couldn't exactly ask them to strip, now could we?" His tone sounded…flirtatious.

Kichi breathed a silent sigh of relief – if he was flirting with her, this would be so much easier.

"Urabe-san would've been more than happy to," Kichi pointed out.

"Only if Ichinose was here, which he isn't," Sakuma countered, "Besides, Touko would rip all our heads off." Kichi laughed, thinking of the pink-haired daughter of the former Prime Minister and her spitfire temper.

Sakuma's eyes again drifted past her shoulder and the laughter in his visible eye become more pronounced.

"You're trying not to laugh," Kichi accused, poking the jello with so much force that her spoon broke the surface.

"I'm sorry," Sakuma said, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

"No, you're not," Kichi pouted.

"Alright, I'm not," Sakuma conceded, "It is very amusing."

"Bastard," Kichi muttered, still refusing to look at him.

"Why are you really here, Kichi-san?" Sakuma asked her, looking like he was a few seconds away from bursting into laughter.

Kichi froze. She was frantically trying to think of a reply when the lights suddenly went out.

There was a half-second of silence before pandemonium broke out. People screamed and shouted and there was the dull scrape of chairs against the linoleum as the camp counselors that were watching them tried to restore order.

"Oh, great, we don't even get electricity twenty-four seven," Kichi grumbled in the dark, irritated at the blackout, yet grateful that it had provided her with a distraction.

"If you hate it so much, why did you come here, anyway?" Sakuma asked reasonably.

Kichi flushed, thankful that he couldn't see her. Somehow, she thought _to seduce you _wouldn't go over so well.

The lights flickered once and came back on, lighting up the small canteen. People's shouts died down as the counselors took control and reassured people that it was just a blackout.

Then someone behind her screamed again and Kichi instinctively turned around. There, on the opposite wall, painted in something that looked eerily in blood was a word.

_BEWARE._

There was a strange symbol drawn below it. A murmur of whispers spread through the room again as people wondered what was going on, panic and hysteria rising yet again.

"KOGURE!" Otonashi Haruna's voice cut through the shouts.

"It wasn't me!" the short, blue-haired prankster denied, and for a moment there was silence. Then Midorikawa took a bite of his food and coughed, eyes watering as he immediately searched for a jug of water.

The tension in the room immediately dissipated as Haruna's eyes narrowed in disbelief and Kogure smiled sheepishly, Midorikawa pausing between gulps of water to glare at the prankster. Sakuma laughed, "Well, he certainly scared the hell out of me."

"Yeah," Kichi said absentmindedly, ignoring the chill that ran down her spine. "So, I'll see you later?" she asked, getting up before Sakuma remembered that he'd asked a lot of questions and gotten no answers.

"Yeah," he smiled at her, "We're in the same cabin."

Kichi froze, halfway in the act of standing up, "We are?" She tried to remember the list that was posted on the bulletin board outside the administrative building, but couldn't recall who else was in her cabin, besides Hiroe.

"Yes," he affirmed, "So I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

"Yeah," Kichi grinned at him, "A _lot_ more." She left him sitting there, stunned at her innuendo as she walked away with a smirk on her face.

"Well, you look happy," Seka raised an eyebrow as Kichi neared their table.

"I'll take it that my advice worked," Hiroe grinned at her as she sat down.

"Yeah, it worked," Kichi said, "Did you know that Sakuma-san's in our cabin?" Akane looked about two seconds away from collapsing due to lack of air, her face bright red as she tried to muffle her laughter.

Hiroe laughed, "I was wondering how long it'd take you to find out."

"I was betting that you wouldn't realize until you actually started seducing him and realized that his bed was in your cabin," Tsuki interjected.

"I have such supportive friends," Kichi said flatly. Tsuki refused to meet her gaze, skewering a tomato slice with a small grin on her face. Seka just smiled innocently at her, completely ignoring Shiori, who was doubled up in silent laughter next to her. Akane took a deep breath and completely lost it, her giggles causing Hiroe's smile to widen.

"You – ohmigod you should've seen his _face_," Akane gasped out, tears streaming from her blue eyes, "His _face_." She collapsed into another fit of giggles while Kichi glared at her, not amused.

"I hate you all," Kichi frowned, eyeing her dinner mournfully.

"We love you too, Chi-chan," Seka beamed at her.

Kichi poked her jello again and resisted the urge to bury her head in the ground until this whole thing was over. Maybe after this camp, her parents would let her buy a one-way ticket to the Caribbean.

* * *

Akane settled back among the pillows – two of which she'd stolen from Gouenji – and stared up at the low ceiling, trying to figure out what was bothering her.

Below her, she could hear the sounds of Natsumi and Midorikawa getting ready for bed, while Gouenji climbed the ladder on the opposite bunk bed. He saw his pillow-less bed and turned to glare at her, a glare she happily ignored.

"That was scary," she heard Natsumi remark and she leaned over the side of her bunk, listening to the conversation.

"Dinner, right?" Midorikawa laughed nervously, "Kogure outdid himself this time."

"I wonder how he managed to get out of his seat and paint the message in such a short time," Natsumi's voice sounded like she was frowning, "The blackout was only for a minute." Gouenji was still glaring at her, arms crossed, but Akane continued to ignore him, the spark of foreboding growing stronger.

"When have we ever figured out how Kogure plans his pranks?" Midorikawa shrugged, "I only wish he didn't dose my food with chili sauce – it took me fifteen minutes to get rid of the taste."

Natsumi laughed but Akane tuned it out, closing her eyes as she searched for whatever was bothering her. Something was wrong, she knew it, she just couldn't explain what –

"I've seen that symbol before," Akane's eyes shot open, remembering the haphazard symbol that had been drawn underneath the warning. Below her, Natsumi stuck her head out.

"The one that looks like an X mark with a squiggly line down the center?" Natsumi arched an eyebrow, "I haven't seen anything like it. You know what it is?"

"I've seen it before," Akane repeated, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to think of it, "I just can't remember where."

"If only this camp had wifi," Natsumi groused, sparking a round of lighthearted teasing as Midorikawa laughed about her refined tastes. Akane ignored them, but she could ignore Gouenji no longer – his stare was about two seconds away from burning a hole through her shirt.

"What?" she snapped at him, opening her eyes.

"Nothing," Gouenji shrugged, "It's just that you make thinking look so _hard_." Akane pressed her lips into a thin line as Midorikawa broke off from his argument with Natsumi to let out a heartfelt groan.

"Please don't tell me you're going to start this _now_," Midorikawa begged. Natsumi let out a resigned sigh.

"Start what?" Gouenji looked bemused.

"Fighting," Natsumi said flatly, "I'd like the cabin standing when this whole thing is over." Natsumi glared at her, which Akane thought was extremely unfair. It wasn't _her_ fault that Gouenji was such an ass.

…And fine, maybe she _had _blown the first fight out of proportion – he hadn't meant to drop ice cream on her favorite shirt and he'd apologized but by the time Akane had cooled down, Gouenji had apparently decided that he _liked_ antagonizing her.

It was totally not her fault.

"Fuck you," she hissed at Gouenji, and threw a pillow at him for good measure. Unfortunately, Gouenji caught the pillow and grinned at her, his objective achieved.

Akane scowled and turned away as Natsumi and Midorikawa climbed into their beds, turning the lights off. She resisted the urge to throw another pillow at Gouenji, who was looking far too pleased with himself, and drifted off to sleep, her dreams haunted with vaguely familiar symbols and memories blurred with time.

* * *

"You're late," she voiced her displeasure as soon as the man walked through the door, her fingernails tapping polished wood in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Kuraki-hime," the man bowed, low, "I had to clean out the cafeteria. _Someone_ had splattered paint all over a wall." She smiled, slow and dangerous, as she followed his line of sight to the empty red paint can in the trash.

"It was time that the world knew I was back," Kuraki said simply.

"None of the children are Serpentine members," the man pointed out, his blue eyes gleaming as he pushed up his glasses, "They don't recruit them that young anymore."

"I know," she said curtly, "The message was not for them."

"Then who was it for?" the man asked, running a hand through his blond hair, clearly agitated, "The rest of us are loyal to your cause, Kuraki-hime. We have given you no reason to distrust us."

"Oh, I know," Kuraki smirked, "And I know that you'll be willing to do _whatever_ it takes to get me back to Tokyo and regain the throne of Serpentine. But tell me – did you notice the expression on the camp director's face when the lights came back on?"

"Nakanishi?" the man frowned, "She looked…worried." His tone changed as he realized what Kuraki was trying to point out, "She's a Serpentine member?"

"A supporter of Shidehara," Kuraki snorted contemptuously, "She will have to die."

The man paced nervously after she voiced her demand, "I – yeah, I guess we could do that. But that would put our schedule off by a few days – we need to wait till the kids leave."

Kuraki laughed at that – they were still new recruits, she supposed, but to not see what Kuraki had grasped in a half-second of illumination…

"I want you to check the register," Kuraki grinned again, the feral smile lighting up her dark red eyes, "There's a carbon copy of Maiko walking around – and I want her dead."

* * *

…_will go wrong_

* * *

**a/n:** And thus ends the first chapter! Hopefully, you liked it. If you didn't – well, no one's forcing you to read.

Some points, in order to clarify things that might have been a little disjointed [if you need any further clarification, a review or a PM would do]

- Tokyo University is supposedly very hard to get into.

- Yes, Akane's former relationship with Hiroto _will_ be clarified, but later. And Akane is slightly crazy. This is nothing to worry about.

- And yeah, when I mean prophetic, I mean there _will_ be a serial killer. Just wait for it.

- Shiori's secret boyfriend will be revealed to. As will the fact about whether he's real or not.

- The House of Katsushika is old nobility. Kichi's father got kind of disowned but he still has a hefty inheritance, even if he isn't on speaking terms with his family.

- The origins of the symbol will be revealed in due time.

- The woman's full name is Kuraki Hana. Serpentine is a super cool, infamous, mysterious organization. Its aims will be given later. Sata Shidehara is the current candidate most likely to rule Serpentine. Nakanishi Miya, the camp director, is her supporter. I will not being going in depth on Serpentine politics in this story, but basically Kuraki wants Shidehara's job. And she thinks that killing off her supporters is going to send the right message.

- You will find out who Maiko is in the next chapter.

-There are twenty-four kids [including the six OCs] that are attending the camp. The eighteen canon characters, for future reference, are: Gouenji Shuuya, Sakuma Jirou, Midorikawa Ryuuji, Raimon Natsumi, Yagami Reina, Saginuma Osamu, Nagumo Haruya, Suzuno Fuusuke, Fudou Akio, Genda Koujirou, Kidou Yuuto, Urabe Rika, Kino Aki, Otonashi Haruna, Kogure Yuuya, Zaizen Touko, Kiyama Hiroto and Kazemaru Ichirouta.

Those important to this plot [those that get mentioned more than twice] are: Gouenji Shuuya, Sakuma Jirou, and Suzuno Fuusuke.


	2. such an ugly word

**a/n:** Here's the second chapter, minna-san! And no matter how I tried it, I couldn't fit in the expositional dialogue, so here it is, upfront.

Kuraki Hana is the serial killer. She killed twenty people in a month, and while she _was_ caught by police, she escaped. Presumably with the help of Serpentine [back when she was still in favor]. She is ruthless, violent, and has a single-minded determination. She is also _not_ psychotic – Kichi's seer-like abilities don't work to that extent.

But this is just more deadly – she is sane, rational, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

**dedication:** To my best friend on her eighteenth birthday and to the original six that inspired this story.

**summary:** It only takes one spark to start a fire. – Pyromaniac, volume 1.

* * *

**ignite**

**chapter two – **_**such an ugly word**_

* * *

"Akane! Psst, Akane! Akane, wake up!" Akane ignored the irritating voice and turned over, freeing one of the three pillows she had draped herself on. Instantly, the warmth on her back was removed and she hissed at the contact with cold air.

"Akane!"

"What?" she snapped back, opening bleary eyes to darkness and a figure looming over her. Squinting, she discerned spiked blond hair and pale skin and closed her eyes again, deeming him not a threat.

"Wake up!" She groaned at Gouenji's shout, half-heartedly raising a hand to swat him. He grabbed it easily and locked her wrist in his grip, causing her to open her eyes again and glare at him.

"_What_?" Akane hissed at him, "It's not even dawn yet!"

"Get up, sleepyhead! We have a competition to attend!" He had the audacity to _grin_ at her, before hoisting himself off her bed and landing with a dull thud on the floor below, tossing the pillow he'd stolen back from her on his bunk. Akane peered over the railing to see him straighten up and nudge Midorikawa, who looked a few yawns away from falling back asleep. Natsumi, on the other hand, was wide awake and refreshed, walking past Gouenji to –

Akane groaned as the lights were switched on, bathing the room in artificial light. She tried to burrow back into the blankets and ignore her burning retinas, but Gouenji was having none of it.

"Get _up_, Akane!"

Officially incensed, Akane leaned over the railing and glared at him, narrowing her eyes to focus his blurry figure, "Who gave you the right to use my first name, you asshole!"

"Yes, because that's so much ruder than calling people names," Gouenji pointed out and she bared her teeth at him, too sleepy to think up a proper comeback.

Five minutes later, she was perched on Natsumi's bunk, still sleepy, but washing her face had gotten rid of the stickiness that clung to her eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about Gouenji, who looked way too happy this early in the morning.

She decided to just keep glaring at him, absently pushing up the bridge of her wire-frame glasses while Midorikawa stared around the room with an air of sleep-deprived bewilderment.

"Why are we up this early?" he finally decided to ask, his words punctuated by a yawn.

"Competition!" Gouenji grinned at him, "There's an activity held at six thirty this morning."

Akane refused to break eye contact with him as she groped around for her copy of the activity schedule, her fingers grasping around empty air before Natsumi took pity on her and handed her her copy.

"Thank you," she muttered, breaking the glare long enough to scan the activity sheet. At six-thirty in the morning, the activity was –

"Lemon and spoon race," Akane said, blinking. "Lemon and spoon race," she repeated, disbelieving. Even Midorikawa looked stunned. "You woke me up this early in the morning for a _lemon and spoon race_!"

Gouenji looked thoughtful, "You know, when you say it like that, it sounds like an innuendo –" He ducked; the pillow she'd thrown sailed through empty air and smacked Midorikawa in the face, sliding off to reveal the same stunned expression.

"There's no need to be so violent, Akane," he smirked at her, "Unless you want a _'lemon and spoon race'_," he made air quotes around the phrase, "In which case, I _do_ happen to like it rough –"

Akane snarled and lunged at him, intent on ripping his eyeballs out of their sockets. Gouenji, however, neatly avoided her lunge, still smirking, "Although I'd love to go at it right now, Akane-chan, I'm pretty sure Natsumi and Midorikawa would raise some objections…"

Akane stalked forward, seeing red as her fingers curled into half-formed claws. Gouenji saw the murderous expression on her face and probably realized he'd gone too far, because he opened the door and was out of the cabin in three seconds flat, Akane close behind him.

By the time Gouenji finished his circuitous route around the cabins and ended up next to Natsumi at the site of the lemon and spoon race – oh, god, now she wasn't even able to _think_ the words without blushing – she'd mostly calmed down, though Gouenji still hid behind Midorikawa as a precaution.

The counselor in charge of the activity, a cheerful blond named Ryu, looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you here?" he inquired, after it became clear that they were waiting for him to say something.

"The lemon and spoon race," Gouenji said brightly, causing Akane to turn a faint shade of pink. Midorikawa started coughing and Natsumi stared ahead with a slight smirk on her face.

Ryu's eyebrows scaled even higher, "You mean you're actually here for the race?"

"Please tell me it got canceled," Akane muttered under her breath.

"Yup," Gouenji smiled.

"Oh," Ryu looked surprised, "Well, this race is team-based, so technically we need at least another cabin…" Natsumi and Midorikawa looked back towards the commons, the cabins dark and silent. Akane grinned in victory. "…But since you've already gotten up, I suppose each of you could compete individually," Ryu ended with a smile.

Akane's grin dropped.

"Then we should get started," Gouenji said and Ryu nodded, waving them back to the line drawn in the dirt and handing each of them a wooden spoon and an egg.

"I thought it was supposed to be a lemon," Midorikawa mused.

"Ah," Ryu looked sheepish, "We kind of ran out of lemons."

Akane ignored Natsumi's mutter of _'how can you run out of lemons?'_ and eyed her egg critically, "Please tell me we at least get a prize."

"Oh, you didn't know?" Ryu brightened, unaware of Akane's sudden interest, "First place in any activity gets a bar of chocolate."

* * *

Seka smiled, stepping out of her cabin and breathing the fresh air. It was a beautiful day – the sun was shining, birds were chirping and…and Akane was heading to the administrative building with a bundle of clothes, splattered with something that looked like raw eggs.

"Not a _word_," Akane hissed at her when she drew closer, "Not a _single_ word."

Seka held her hands up in surrender, conceding to the murder written in every line of Akane's enraged figure as she stalked towards the showers. Seka watched her go with a raised eyebrow, wondering how Akane had managed to end up covered in egg.

Turning back to the direction Akane had come from; Seka saw a similarly egg-splattered Gouenji exit the first cabin. Contrary to Akane's angry expression, Gouenji looked like the cat that swallowed the canary, whistling an innocent tune as he strolled towards the showers. He caught her staring and smiled, waving at her before continuing on his way.

Seka was sure that if her eyebrow went up any higher, it'd leap off her face.

However, she started her walk to the canteen, which was her destination before she'd gotten side-tracked. Hiroe had called for all of them to meet because apparently Kichi was freaking out about the dare and mumbling nonsense like _'he breathes nice'_.

She entered and saw Hiroe neatly eating an apple next to Kichi, who _did_ look frazzled and slightly unhinged. Shiori was trying to eat a piece of toast and text at the same time, only the toast kept missing her mouth. Tsuki was slumped on the table, clearly fast asleep.

Seka took her time in preparing a breakfast tray, finally deciding on an orange and a few slices of toast, before joining them. It was apparent that Kichi wanted advice and Seka wasn't sure how to give it to her without bringing up the subject of Suzuno Fuusuke.

"So?" Seka said after a few minutes, when it became clear that no one else was going to start, "What happened?"

"We should probably wait for Akane," Hiroe said, "I don't feel like repeating myself."

"Then we're probably going to have to wait awhile," Seka said, generously applying butter to her second slice of toast, "She's gone to take a shower."

There was a moment of silence before Kichi frowned, "Why did she go to take a shower?"

Seka cut across Shiori's response of _'why does anybody go take a shower, baka?'_ and replied, "She was covered in egg."

"Egg," Kichi blinked. And blinked again, "_Egg_." She sounded as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "Akane was covered in egg."

"Yes," Seka nodded, empathizing with the disbelief – she probably would've felt the same way if she hadn't seen Akane with her own eyes.

"Raw egg?"

Seka rolled her eyes, "No, _boiled egg_ – of course it was raw egg, Kichi!"

"Wait," Hiroe held up a hand to interrupt Kichi's glare, "_Why_ was Akane covered in egg?"

Seka wondered whether or not to tell them, and shrugged, "I don't know." She paused, thought it over and bit her lip before continuing, "But I think it had something to do with Gouenji-san, since he was also covered in egg and looked quite happy."

There was a second of horrified silence as everyone absorbed the implications of her statement.

"Akane and _Gouenji-san_?" Hiroe looked faintly nauseous and Seka surmised that Tsuki hadn't told her about Akane's and Gouenji's supposed undying love.

Kichi waved off Hiroe's concern and leaned in closer, "_Egg_?"

Tsuki still didn't twitch, fast asleep, but Shiori had finally stopped texting and was smirking, "Maybe you should ask Akane for advice, Kichi."

"Akane and Gouenji-san," Hiroe repeated faintly.

"I mean – who does – we're – now – _egg_," Kichi spluttered, looking shocked. Seka hid a small smile as she reached for her third piece of toast. Sure, Kichi still looked queasy, but at least it wasn't due to her dare and Seka tallied up another point for the successful distraction.

It was her job to make sure her friends didn't self-combust from all their melodrama, and Seka was determined to do it right.

* * *

Akane silently seethed as she ran her fingers through her hair, letting the water rinse out the last of the yolk and eggshells. She'd _wanted_ that chocolate and since Gouenji had woken her up before dawn, she thought she was perfectly entitled to winning the race. Then Gouenji had tripped – accidentally, or so he claimed – and fell, his egg spinning through the air to oh-so-_conveniently_ land on Akane.

She hissed at the memory, her fingers tugging harder than necessary when she remembered the stupid grin on his face, mocking her no matter how many eggs she threw at him.

The shower turned from steamy hot to ice cold, causing Akane to wince and scurry out of range of the freezing jet of water. She waited a few more seconds, but it was clear that the hot water wasn't coming back. Akane's irritation spiked at the realization that she was no longer going to be able to take her hour-long showers.

Grumbling, Akane grabbed her towel and dried her hair as much as she could, winding the towel around her before stepping out of the stall. The tiles were worn and grimy and Akane eyed them with distaste, her anger rising as she remembered that Kichi was the one that dragged them all here, instead of to the resort Akane wanted to go to.

She conveniently forgot to remember that it was _her_ dare that started it all.

Akane turned to get her clothes, thankful that the shower room was empty. This early in the morning, everyone was either asleep or eating breakfast and Akane glowered as she remembered exactly _whose_ fault it was that she wasn't luxuriating in her bunk bed with a heap of pillows.

Pillows that he'd stolen back from her.

Akane turned, half-dressed, and almost slipped on the tiles, teetering madly for a second before she regained her balance. She managed to catch a hold of the door of a stall and straightened up, catching a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of her eye.

Wondering what it was, she turned – and froze. There was another warning written on the steamed up mirror.

_I WILL KILL THOSE WHO STAND IN MY PATH._

It wasn't paint this time – it was water, or something that looked like water, glassy on the surface of the mirror. The only reason Akane was able to see it was because the steam from her shower had blurred the rest of the mirror, leaving the words and the symbol below it a clear contrast.

Akane darted her eyes from side to side, but she couldn't see anyone. Whoever had written the message could have done it at any time, just waiting for the first person to use the showers. Hell, whoever had done it probably did it ages ago – Akane was most likely the first person to use the showers in a long time.

She _still_ couldn't figure out where the symbol was from.

Getting dressed quickly, Akane left, the warning beginning to fade as the steam condensed into water, obscuring the message once again.

And if her pace was a little faster than usual, she ignored it.

* * *

Kichi stepped up to the side of the rope as a counselor's whistle blew, signifying the start of the tug-of-war competition. Moving towards the front, near the red line that demarcated their side, she picked up the rope. She was first – the anchor while everyone behind her pulled.

"Kichi-san." Oh, fuck.

Kichi raised her eyes to meet a red eye half-shut in amusement behind a light blue fringe, "Sakuma-san." He stepped up to his position on the rope, a mirror of hers.

"Quite a coincidence, isn't it?" he smiled at her as he picked up the rope. He tested it lightly, pulling the rope out of Kichi's loose grip.

"Indeed," she plastered a fake smile on her face, watching him grin. His smile sent butterflies sparking in her stomach, chasing all thoughts out of her mind.

"I hope your team will provide a sufficient challenge." He was teasing her. He was actually _teasing_ her.

Kichi grinned at him, making sure to showcase each and every one of her teeth, "Oh, don't worry Sakuma-san. We're _more_ than enough to…_challenge_ you."

His answering smirk was all the reply she needed as both teams held the rope, bracing themselves.

The whistle blew.

Kichi dug her heels into the ground and concentrated on pulling, careful not to put so much pressure that her feet slipped on the dusty ground. She could see someone on Sakuma's side trying to deal with the same problem.

Girls against boys – when one of her teammates was a _very_ pissed-off Touko, Kichi had enough faith that they'd win. And judging by the worried looks of her opponents as the red ribbon tied on the rope edged closer to the line, so did they.

Kichi couldn't resist. "Enough of a challenge, Sakuma-san?" He glared at her and she laughed, the sound lost as everyone gritted their teeth, muttering curses under their breath as they pulled. She kept her eyes on him even as her arms shook with the strain, scanning his features without interruption.

He was handsome, red eyes, long light blue hair in a low ponytail and the eyepatch that showed the faint outlines of his right eye, obscured behind a dark screen. She tilted her head to one side, wondering why the eyepatch was there – was his eye injured, or was it to maintain an image?

If it was the image, then her outlook on him would drop considerably. He was famous and Kichi had dealt with enough people like that, both through her family and her friends' families, to realize what fame could do to a person. And she'd willingly take Akane's punishment over seducing a rich jerkass and only boosting his ego.

But he was _nice_, or at least that what Kichi had heard about him. She didn't know much, despite being his classmate for the last half year.

"Come on, girls!" Touko's voice sounded from somewhere behind her, "Let's kick their asses!" There wasn't much left – the ribbon had only a few scant inches to go and Kichi stopped observing Sakuma and concentrated on the rope, pulling with all her might.

She observed movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up, just to catch Sakuma's face turning away from the person behind him. He smiled at her and Kichi felt a sudden jolt of unease.

Behind him, somewhere down in the middle of the line, Kogure smirked. Kichi felt the jolt of unease grow until her eyes widened with sudden comprehension.

The rope went slack in her hands.

So _not_ nice.

Kichi forced herself to breathe again, stifling the urge to swear as she lay on her back, completely winded. She watched the clouds drifting aimlessly across the bright blue sky as the groans of her teammates reached her ears. She could distinguish Touko's shrill curses. There seemed to be something poking her shoulder at two-second intervals.

And then her view of the beautiful summer sky was obscured by a very smug face. Kichi scowled at it.

"You're an immature child."

Sakuma only laughed, before reaching an arm out to her. Kichi debated on whether or not to take it – he certainly didn't seem opposed to dropping her flat on her ass – but she could no longer ignore Akane's persistent jabs and reached out, grabbing his hand.

Sakuma pulled her up with an ease and strength that Kichi envied, his hand snapping shut around hers and pulling her flush against him.

"And you're not?" Sakuma breathed out, his eyes filled with a dangerous intensity. She could feel his heart beating a few inches away from her own.

Kichi fought the urge to quail under his intense focus and replied back, "_No_." She had not intended her voice to sound so breathy, but it did, and she was close enough to see his eyes dilate.

"Kami, Kichi, how the fuck are you so heavy?" Akane's disgruntled voice reached her, and the moment was gone. "Do you eat rocks, or something?" Sakuma stepped a pace back, releasing her hand from his grip and he blinked once, the lust in his eyes gone. Kichi flushed a deep red as she turned back to Akane, who was picking herself off the ground.

"Yes," she snapped at her, her irritation increasing in proportion to the blush on her face, "I woke up this morning and had a feeling that I was going to land on top of you sometime today and so I had a side helping of rocks at breakfast!"

Akane raised an eyebrow at her blatant irritation, "What's gotten into _you _–" Her eyes unfocused, looking at something behind Kichi. "_Oh_," Akane smirked, "I'm so sorry for interrupting."

Akane happily skipped off to help Hiroe and the others.

Kichi glared at her retreating back and turned around – but Sakuma was no longer there.

* * *

"Come _on_, Shi-chan," Tsuki whined, "I've been waiting for the past five minutes!"

The irony of life that Ippitsusai Tsukiyama had to wait for someone _else_, Shiori thought wryly.

"And you usually keep us waiting half an hour for parties," Shiori snapped back, "Consider this payback."

"That's Okaasama's fault," Tsuki retorted, "You know that she's a super-obsessed fashion designer and that she won't let me leave until she's addressed every error!"

"I think you're exaggerating," Shiori snorted, "Maiko-san doesn't find faults with us, now does she?"

She bent over her suitcase, trying to remember whether or not she'd packed her bathing suit. She _knew_ that a beach was included in the camp, and she thought she had packed the right clothes…

Tsuki was silent and Shiori froze, coming to a startling realization. Her question had been rhetorical, but –

"Tsuki?" she asked softly, unwilling to admit anything to herself.

"You're taking too long. I'm leaving." Shiori looked behind her in time to see the door slam shut, stunned at Tsuki's abrupt departure.

Shiori knelt on the floor, shocked – sure, Ippitsusai Maiko was rather cold, especially compared to Akane's and Kichi's parents, but she'd never thought that Tsuki's mother _disapproved_ of them.

Her teeth clenching as she remembered all the bitter, judging looks that Shiori had brushed off as just her imagination. Now considerably more angry, Shiori returned to her suitcase, intent on finding her bathing suit and shredding anything else that stood in her way.

Somewhere in the fog of rage and disbelief, Shiori heard the door open and close. "I still haven't found it, Tsuki," she snarled, the rage tinting the corners of her vision red.

"I'm not Tsuki."

All the anger rushed out of her when she heard that smooth, irritated voice. She turned around to see Suzuno Fuusuke standing next to the door.

Shiori felt cold – this was too much. "Why are you here?" she snapped at him, her eyes narrowing.

Suzuno didn't visibly react, just kept his aquamarine eyes trained on her, the frustration clear in the set of his jaw and the clench of his fists. "I think you know why I'm here, Shiori," he said.

Shiori decided to stand up, to take even the meager advantage offered by her short stature because kneeling on the floor and staring up at Suzuno did not seem like a good idea. "Actually I don't," she glared, "I have no idea why you're here, or why you're even _talking_ to me."

"You still haven't told Seka."

"I'll tell Seka and the others when I want to," Shiori huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Why?" he said, his voice blank, "Are you _ashamed_?"

Shiori felt her face crumple at the half-second of despair in his tone, "No – no, I'm not ashamed of you. Please don't say that."

"Then why haven't you told them?"

"I," Shiori bit her lip, "They're going to think it's a betrayal. I – I don't know how I can convince Seka it's not."

"You can't," Suzuno sounded callous, "You betrayed her the minute you accepted my invitation."

"You're really helpful," Shiori hissed, "You're supposed to make me feel _better_ not worse!"

"If you wanted someone to kiss all your problems away, you shouldn't have picked me," Suzuno said, his eyes narrowing.

"_Thank you_ for that piece of advice!" Shiori mocked, "Maybe I'll use it!" There was a stagnant silence after her declaration as Shiori glared, practically vibrating with fury and Suzuno stood, silent and contemplative.

Shiori turned away from him – she was going to leave, _now_, and she didn't care if she didn't find her bathing suit, as long as it meant not standing another _second_ in Suzuno's presence –

Suzuno caught her wrist just before she opened the door. "You will tell them," he said, his voice low and in that moment, Shiori saw that her rage was _nothing_ compared to the icy fury in his eyes, "Or I _will_."

* * *

Hiroe was frowning as she went on her way to dinner. Her friends seemed off. Kichi was prone to drifting off into a trance with a faint blush on her cheeks – _that_ was easily explained – and Shiori was quiet and withdrawn.

And _not_ texting her secret boyfriend.

Hiroe wondered what happened to instill such a change in her. The skepticism wedged fiercely on the topic of Shiori's boyfriend seemed to waver. Maybe the girl _did_ actually have a boyfriend.

But that would led to the obvious question: why was he secret?

Hiroe knew objectively that there were many reasons why Shiori might keep her boyfriend secret – she knew that Shiori's parents didn't like the idea of her dating. However, Hiroe was hurt that she couldn't trust her best friends.

Unless…unless it wasn't Shiori's _parents_ that disapproved of her boyfriend.

"Satoya-san."

Hiroe felt her thought processes grind to a jarring halt as she nearly walked into Suzuno Fuusuke.

She was gaping, she knew it, but he simply stared at her, his arms crossed and his eyes hard.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Her rudeness was uncharacteristic – of all her friends, Hiroe was the most polite, at least to outsiders. Her father had drilled it in her head many times – sometimes, violence _wasn't_ the answer and enemies were more disconcerted by courtesy.

'_Anger is predictable. But civility is not, because civility to an enemy shows that you are _thinking_ and an opponent who is thinking is all the more dangerous.'_

Suzuno opened her mouth to speak but Hiroe never knew what he was going to say because she heard Shiori's voice calling her.

"Roe-chan! Roe-chan – oh, there you are," Shiori stumbled to halt next to her, smiling, before she recognized Suzuno. The smile instantly shifted into a sneer.

"Come on, Hiroe," Shiori said, her voice icy cold – Shiori, out of all of them, was Seka's closest friend and after the breakup, Shiori had been the one to pick up the pieces. "Let's go."

Hiroe mutely agreed and let herself be tugged away, missing the way Suzuno bowed his head in compromise.

Later, she would think back and realize that Shiori's voice was cold from desperation and that Suzuno's eyes were hardened with anger.

* * *

Tsuki was so surprised by the sight of Suzuno Fuusuke _appearing_ in front of her that she almost shrieked. Sure, she knew he was a football player and that they played at incredible speeds, but seeing it in action was disconcerting.

"Ippitsusai-san," Suzuno acknowledged with a tilt of his head, "There is something you need to know."

It took Tsuki a few seconds to recover before his words filtered into her mind. "I don't need to know _anything_ from _you_, Suzuno-san," she hissed, her eyes narrowing as she moved to walk past him.

"Not even the name of Shiori's boyfriend?"

Tsuki froze, her mind warring between being loyal to her friends and gaining gossip she'd waited _forever_ for.

The gossip won.

"Who is it?" she turned back and she noticed a smile on his face. He merely shook his head, giving her a pointed glance behind her, to where Shiori stood on the steps of the cabin, arms crossed and radiating a frigid aura.

"Later," he whispered and by the time she turned back, he'd vanished just as swiftly as he'd appeared.

* * *

She heard the door open and close behind her but didn't turn around, trusting in the loyalty of her followers. Sure enough, the woman soon stepped into view, her dark eyes sharp on a rustling paper.

"Is that it?" Kuraki raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Kuraki-sama," the woman bowed, low, her long black hair falling to obscure her face, "I made a copy of the student registry, just like you requested. There are twenty-four students in all."

"Thank you, Kaya," she said absently, "Your loyalty is absolute."

There was a few seconds of silence as Kuraki made her way down the list, memorizing any names that jumped out at her, before Kaya spoke up, "If I may ask, Kuraki-sama, what are you looking for?"

"While I was in the canteen, I noticed a girl who looked almost exactly like Maiko."

There was a sharp gasp, "_Ippitsusai Maiko_?"

Kuraki smiled, "The one and only."

"I – don't you think it would be dangerous if we provoked her?" Kaya said slowly, as if she was afraid of incurring Kuraki's wrath.

Kuraki was almost amused – she wondered who exactly had spread the rumor of her mental instability.

"Maiko was once everything Serpentine embodied," Kuraki said softly, remembering the woman she had used to looked up to, "Brave, smart, beautiful and determined. But now time has corrupted her, like it does everyone – she is a toothless dragon, no matter what stories you've heard."

"Yes, Kuraki-sama," Kaya said, "We will not hesitate to eliminate your target."

"Traitors deserve only one thing," Kuraki's smile grew as she found the name she was looking for – Ippitsusai Tsukiyama. "Death."

* * *

_blackmail is…_

* * *

**a/n:** And here we are, at the end of chapter two!

More points for clarification:

- A lemon and spoon race is where you hold [or bite] the handle of a spoon while a lemon, a ball, or an egg is placed on the spoon. The objective is to reach the other side the fastest without letting the object fall. The _'lemon and spoon race'_ – well, I think we all know what _that_ is.

- Akane gets quite vicious about chocolate.

- Seka is far too used to see her friends covered in various substances.

- Yes, that's where the lemons went. [And I mean the actual lemons, not the fanfic-lemons because you can be rest assured that I _don't_ write lemons.]

- Sakuma did something that I've often longed to do in tug-of-war, especially when our side is losing. Let go of the rope.

- Suzuno is _pissed_.

- Hiroe's father is the head of Tokyo's largest crime family – the Satoya Family. On that note, Akane is the sole heir to Higashiyama Enterprises, Seka is the second-in-line to inherit the Arakida Trading Group, Shiori is the only heir to Abukara Intel, Kichi is a princess, Tsuki's mother runs Ippitsusai Fashions.

- Ippitsusai Maiko is Tsuki's mom. Maiko was a traitor to Serpentine. [She was also quite powerful, though not exactly in terms of _physical _strength.] The only thing Kuraki hates more than contenders to her throne are traitors. She's going to kill Tsuki. But remember, she is _sane_ and _rational_ and can therefore _wait_. Till the opportune moment.

…I'm so sorry, I had to use that reference.


	3. be careful what you

**a/n:** Chapter titles are half of famous sayings/idioms. This chapter deals with the breakdown and the reveal of Shiori's secret. I had a lot of trouble writing this, it didn't seem to flow, especially the Suzuno/Seka scene, but anyway, go ahead and read!

**dedication:** To my best friend on her eighteenth birthday and to the original six that inspired this story.

**summary:** It only takes one spark to start a fire. – Pyromaniac, volume 1.

* * *

**ignite**

**chapter three – **_**be careful what you**_

* * *

The actual warning that had been carved into the wall was simple. An X-mark, with a squiggly line down the center – a mark Tsuki could've _sworn_ she'd seen somewhere. But trying to recollect the symbol only brought up images of Tsuki's mother's stern face and Tsuki was quite tired of being a constant disappointment, she didn't have to feel like a failure at camp, too.

The _message_, though – the message had been downright terrifying.

A symbol, carved on the wall above her head – a symbol that had most definitely not been there when Tsuki went to bed. A message that told her that someone with a knife had stood over her while she _slept_ and carved in a symbol that had also been seen under a warning painted in red.

And no, Tsuki didn't think Kogure did it. Not from the beginning, since he denied it – since when did _Kogure_ deny his culpability? – and furthered her suspicions.

Tsuki wondered whether or not to bring this to Shiori's notice. She was feeling a strange sense of surrealism, as if this had not really happened, and she'd wake up to discover a knife lodged in her ribs.

"Tsuki, what could _possibly_ hold your attention for five minutes straight?" Shiori laughed, and Tsuki could hear the sadness hiding behind the fake cheerfulness.

Something was going on with Shiori and Tsuki had a feeling that it had something to do with Suzuno Fuusuke – people didn't just walk up to their ex-girlfriend's best friend and offer information on _their_ best friend's secret boyfriend. Things that complicated only happened in soap operas. No, something was wrong and Tsuki was going to _find out_.

"Nothing," Tsuki smiled – a smile that came easily to her, whether fake or real. She had a lot of practice and now even her best friends thought that Tsuki was eternally happy. "I was just thinking."

"Oh, no," Shiori said in mock terror as they began walking out, "The apocalypse is coming!"

Tsuki glared at the other girl and huffed, "I was wondering who your secret boyfriend was."

Shiori's laughter stopped so abruptly it sounded like she'd slammed into a tree.

"Why are you thinking about that, Tsuki?" Shiori sighed in exasperation and Tsuki mentally appreciated how much acting talent that required, "I told you I'd introduce you when the time came."

"Well, you _did_ say he was in this camp," Tsuki began, only to be interrupted by Shiori's flailing.

"When did I say that?" Shiori asked, affronted.

"You didn't deny it," Tsuki pointed out and Shiori remained silent.

"Anyway, since he's in this camp, that leaves us only twenty-four possibilities," Tsuki said happily, "Twenty-two, if you exclude the both of us. If you exclude the _rest_ of the girls, that makes twelve. Unless it _is_ a girl," Tsuki accompanied the last part with narrow eyed scrutiny.

"It's not a girl!" Shiori said heatedly, her cheeks turning pink.

"Right, twelve people," Tsuki nodded briskly, "Given that some of them are in relationships and I don't think you'd ruin relationships," she missed the flash of shame in Shiori's eyes, "That leaves us five people – and since I don't think you would have made the bet with Kichi-chan if it was Sakuma-san and you wouldn't have encouraged me about Akane and Gouenji-san, that leaves three!"

Shiori looked like she was facing her impeding doom.

"That's Saginuma Osamu, Kogure Yuuya and Kidou Yuuto!" Tsuki grinned, but Shiori – was that a sigh of _relief_?

"Tsuki, stop asking or I'll never tell you," Shiori groaned.

"Just say yes or no!"

"No."

"Was that a no to Saginuma-san?"

"No."

"Oh, so it was a _yes_?"

"No."

"Hey, it's okay, even if he is a bookworm."

"Tsuki, _shut up_."

"I won't tell anyone!"

"Firstly, that's a complete and utter _lie_. Secondly, I'm not dating Saginuma-san!"

Tsuki stifled a giggle, "Shiori, Reina-san's giving you a weird look."

And the rest of the morning was spent in avoiding Shiori's attempts to throttle her.

* * *

She was going mad. There was no other word for it. She was going completely _insane_.

Crazier than Akane, even, and _that_ was something to be worried about.

Ever since she'd intercepted his attempt to tell Hiroe, she was seeing Suzuno everywhere. She'd look up in a conversation and see him standing near a tree. She'd look across the canteen and see him sitting at a table. She'd join an activity to see him on the opposing side.

And the _staring_. Shiori felt like she was two inches tall under that stare – flushed, embarrassed and ashamed.

They'd agreed to keep the relationship secret and they'd agreed not to bother each other when they were in public. And suddenly, Suzuno was breaking the rule, no matter where she went. He'd already talked to Tsuki, though she was almost sure he hadn't told her anything – if Tsuki knew, the whole world knew and Tsuki hadn't even brought up Suzuno in the list of secret boyfriends.

Like Tsuki had completely and utterly dismissed the idea.

Tsuki was obviously in for a rude shock – Shiori had caught up with Kichi before Suzuno could tell her and Akane had blatantly refused to talk to him, but she knew that Suzuno would find a way.

His message was quite clear – tell them, or he would, and he was showing her that he'd have no problem following through.

But Shiori _couldn't_ tell them – she couldn't bear the looks of disgust, disbelief and betrayal. They were her best friends and they'd desert her in a heartbeat and Shiori _couldn't_ take that, no matter what ultimatum Suzuno set.

So she prayed that Suzuno wouldn't tell and she wished for something, _anything_ to happen to distract her friends if he _did_ tell.

Her wish was fulfilled in a way she'd never imagined.

* * *

"Congratulations, Akane!" Akane turned to see Ryu heading towards her with a bar of chocolate in his hands.

"What for?" Akane raised an eyebrow as he neared her. She was distracted though, and continued searching for Gouenji – the bastard had vanished into thin air after making _another_ one of his innuendos and Akane had finally had _enough_.

"The jump rope competition," Ryu replied.

Akane frowned, "I thought you called a truce after we went for more than fifteen minutes and since there were so many people left, you couldn't give them all chocolate."

"Turns out we could," Ryu handed her the chocolate, "Congrats again for winning."

Akane took the chocolate with a bemused expression and realized it was already opened. "Hey, why is it –"

"Oh, most of the students had trouble opening the cover and I cut open all of them, just to be sure."

"Oh, okay," Akane smiled, "Thanks, Ryu-sensei!" He held a hand up in acknowledgement before leaving. Something about the situation felt off to Akane but it was chocolate and she never let anything come in the way of that.

Her thoughts turning back to Gouenji, she munched on her chocolate, ignoring both the storm clouds hovering warily over the ocean and the strange aftertaste the chocolate left in her mouth.

* * *

Seka frowned at a nearby tree, suspicious. She could hear faint giggling emanating from it, which was proof enough – trees did not usually giggle.

People who were hiding after _totally_ cheating in rock-paper-scissors most certainly did.

"I know you're there, Shiori," Seka bared her teeth into the approximation of a grin. The giggling stopped. Seka rolled her eyes – if Shiori thought _that_ could stop her…

"I found y–" Seka stopped in the middle of her sentence as she rounded the tree to find no one there. She looked up – no one there either. Eyes narrowing, she turned around and walked straight into her ex-boyfriend.

Suzuno steadied her before she hit the ground and immediately began talking, the words spilling out of his mouth.

"Has she told you?"

Seka just stared at Suzuno, stunned. This was the first time he'd approached her since the breakup, when he'd essentially told her to go fuck herself. Seka was understandably feeling a bit surprised.

Suzuno scanned her face, apparently uncaring to her current frozen state, "No, she hasn't told you – well, I warned her."

"Warned who?" Shiori's tongue seemed to start working again.

"Shiori."

"About what?" Seka was slowly regaining movement in her limbs.

"About her secret boyfriend."

Seka frowned, her brain clicking back on, as it catalogued Suzuno as an enemy overdue for castration. "How do _you_ know who it is?"

"Because it's me," Suzuno looked miserable yet determined, as if he was forcing himself to walk to the gallows.

Seka stared at him expectantly before his words filtered through her brain. "Her secret boyfriend is _you_?" she chortled, grinning, "That's a good one, Suzuno – you were always witty."

Suzuno wasn't laughing.

Seka felt the tension strain at her smile until she dropped it, her eyes widening, "No – you're not serious." There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as her mind turned over the implications of his statement.

"I am."

"You – you're lying," Seka tried to force a skeptical look on her face but it was no use, the sinking feeling was growing stronger as shock slowly gave way to anger and betrayal, "I don't know what kind of a game you're playing, Suzuno, but it's _not_ funny –"

"I know you hate me," Suzuno held his hands out as a placating gesture, "And I know I broke your heart. But think for a moment, Seka – when did I ever start _lying_ to you?"

And Seka felt her doubts crushed as she tried to fight against the realization – it was true, Suzuno didn't lie to her. In fact, that was what tore them apart, his brutal honesty. But to accept his statement as truth was to think her best friend capable of the highest form of betrayal.

"You're lying," Seka repeated, her voice sounding distant to her own ears, "I – Shiori would never do something like that."

Suzuno smiled bitterly, "Maybe you should ask her."

He walked past her and out of sight, leaving Seka struggling against the weight of treachery she'd never seen coming. She stumbled out of the treeline and walked towards the commons, collapsing onto a log and trying very hard not to cry.

_You know Shiori,_ a voice spoke up in her head, trying to sound rational, _Shiori would never do something like this._

_You know Suzuno, _another voice pointed out, _and Suzuno doesn't lie. _

_You broke up with him,_ voice one made a very good point, _he could be different now._

_Different enough to date Shiori_, voice two said snidely.

"Seka?" a third voice said and she ignored it before she realized that this voice _wasn't_ in her head. Hiroe was bending over her, looking concerned, "Seka, are you all right? Why did you stop looking for us?"

Seka turned away from Hiroe and focused on the four standing behind her, picking Shiori out from them. "Is it true?" she asked, surprised to hear that her voice was blank and unwavering.

"Is what true?" Shiori frowned, looking confused. The others weren't paying much attention – Kichi was still grumbling about how they were forced to abort playing hide-and-seek when Seka had stopped looking.

"Are you really dating Suzuno Fuusuke?" The others froze with wide-eyed looks of surprise and soft gasps.

Shiori didn't reply but her face went deathly pale and that was enough of an answer for Seka.

Apparently, it was enough of an answer for everyone else, too.

"You're _what_?" Kichi's tone was one of disbelief as she turned on Shiori.

"This – this is a joke, right, Shi-chan," Tsuki asked quietly, her voice wavering, "I – I mean you don't actually _have_ a boyfriend, so you thought you could make one up. Is that it?"

The pit at the bottom of Seka's stomach was open wide and she could feel herself falling into the abyss of betrayal.

"Shiori…" Hiroe said quietly, and that was enough for Shiori to break.

"Yes, I'm dating Suzuno Fuusuke," she replied, infusing her words with rage, but in some part of Seka's mind, the fear on Shiori's face registered. "Yes, he's my secret boyfriend. No, this is _not_ a joke."

Seka felt frozen. She couldn't move and her friends' voices had all blurred out, leaving only meaningless words.

"You – I can't believe this!"

"What is _wrong_ with you, Shiori?"

"What were you thinking?"

"How could you do this to Seka?"

"Oh, please, Kichi, don't act as if you have such high morals – you're the one planning to seduce Sakuma-san. How do you think _he's_ going to feel about that?"

"It's not like I'm sleeping with him!"

"Wait a minute, you're going to seduce him and leave him hanging? Really, Kichi?"

"That was _your_ dare, Akane, I don't see why you have such a problem with that!"

"Oh, I know – maybe because _your_ boyfriend left _you_ hanging, huh, Akane?"

"This has nothing to do with Hiroto!"

"Are you really so sexually frustrated that you're trying to get some through Kichi?"

"At least _I'm_ not dating my best friend's ex-boyfriend!"

"At least my boyfriend isn't _gay_!"

"Please, guys, stop fighting. We need to stop distrusting each other."

"You're such a hypocrite, Tsuki – you were the one that spent _weeks_ spying on your boyfriend because you thought he was gay _with_ Hiroto-san!"

"Yeah, Midorikawa-san is Hiroto's _brother_. How sick do you have to get to even imagine that?"

"How sick do you have to get to date the guy who broke your best friend's heart, huh, Shi-chan?"

"Tsuki's right. We need to stop fighting. It's already drawing a crowd."

"You don't understand _anything_, Hiroe. You've never had a boyfriend."

"I'm glad I never had one, if it turns me into a paranoid bitch."

"_Excuse me?_"

"If you're trying to stop us fighting, you're not doing a particularly good job."

"And you would know all about stopping fights, Shiori, considering you're the one that started this!"

"Oh, so all of this is _my_ fault? It's my fault Hiroto's was gay? It's my fault that Kichi's seducing Sakuma? It's my fault that you've never had a boyfriend?"

"How could you date _Suzuno Fuusuke_, Shiori?"

"How could you not realize Hiroto was gay until you tried to _sleep_ with him, Akane?"

"Stop it! Please, stop it!"

"Shut up, Tsuki – leave the conversation to the adults."

"…And what exactly was _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I don't know – use that brain of yours for once."

"Like you ever use your brain, Kichi!"

"…_What?_"

"Akane tells you to go seduce someone and you _do_ it? Really, Kichi? I mean, I always knew you had no common sense, but there's a difference between idiotic and too stupid to live."

"I was drunk! You're supposed to be my _best friends_ and stop me from doing stupid things when I'm drunk!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't have such a high alcohol tolerance, we wouldn't try to get you completely shitfaced so often."

"What's your excuse, Shiori? You're going out with Suzuno Fuusuke while completely _sober_."

"My relationship is _none _of your business!"

"I," Seka cleared her throat, effectively stopping the argument as Shiori glared at Kichi, who was sneering at Akane. Tsuki hovered in the background, looking close to tears while Hiroe was angrier than Seka had ever seen. At the outskirts of the commons, a crowd was indeed beginning to form, none of them too eager to get closer to the five pissed-off girls, yet desperate for gossip all the same.

"I," Seka began again and they all looked at her. Seka wondered how best to phrase her question before giving up and deciding to brazen through, "Did you start dating Suzuno before he broke up with me?"

There was dead silence and Seka met Shiori's eyes, afraid of what she'd see. She didn't think she would be able to handle that magnitude of betrayal, not from the girl who'd been her best friend for three straight years.

But Seka's face was blank and her eyes were cold. "I cannot _believe_ you asked me that question," she said softly, each word feeling like a punch in the gut.

Shiori turned on her heel and walked away, ignoring Suzuno who tried to say something to her. Seka felt the bottom drop out of her stomach altogether as her four remaining friends stared at her with looks of disgust and empathy.

With one question, Seka had managed to make the whole thing worse.

* * *

Kichi sat on the soft sand, watching the ocean as it roiled; the water as dark as the storm clouds that had covered the afternoon sky.

The fight had been terrible. Kichi had been fighting back tears as she attempted to speak through choked sobs, spitting insults and spewing venom, voicing her darkest thoughts about her friends, the thoughts that were locked away in a corner of her mind, festering in the shadows.

Every nasty thing she had ever thought of came forth – the opinions she hid, the suspicions she concealed, the truth to every lie she knew her friends had told.

She suspected she wasn't the only one speaking her mind for the first time, and that was what hurt.

The realization that, just like her, her friends had hidden away what they _really_ felt.

Shiori's relationship with Suzuno was a serious blow. No one had ever expected that. Seka was _devastated_, and was currently being consoled by Tsuki, who still looked like she was about to cry.

Shiori had locked herself in her cabin and Akane had vanished somewhere along the many waves that crashed down on the shoreline. Hiroe was playing a game of badminton with a few of the other girls, though Kichi could see that the insults had hurt her as well.

Kichi brushed away the one tear that fell and continued staring out over the ocean, feeling lonely and miserable. It was a terrible feeling, watching friendship teeter on the edge of the precipice and being unable to do anything about it.

Kichi was broken out of her despair by the sound of a distant shout.

"Oi! Kichi-san! The ball, please!"

She looked around at Sakuma's shout and saw him jogging towards her, waving at the soccer ball that had gotten away from their match. Kichi also started towards it and, as she was closer, she reached there in time to pick the ball up and hand it to Sakuma.

"Hello, Sakuma-san," she smiled, and felt her sadness abate a little at the sight of him. She always felt happier in his presence.

"Kichi-san," he sounded oddly cold as he took the ball from her. He turned to leave and stopped, hesitating for a second before turning back. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why am I doing what?" Kichi blinked, confused.

"You know, eating lunch and dinner with me, starting up conversations," Sakuma waved his free hand to encompass the variety of interactions Kichi had initiated to get to know him better.

Kichi's smile dimmed, "Maybe I just want to be your friend, Sakuma-kun."

His eyes narrowed at the honorific, "My _friend_, huh?" He shook his head in disgust, "So you're just the latest that wants to sleep with an international celebrity. You know, in the beginning, I actually thought you were genuine."

"No, Sakuma-san," Kichi switched back, "It's not like that! I –"

"I am not a child," Sakuma said icily, "Please don't insult my intelligence by treating me like one."

Kichi bit her lip and fell silent, her eyes brimming with tears once more. She watched him turn to leave with blurry vision, all her heart chanting for it to be a dream, a hallucination, _anything_ but reality…

"And Katsushika-san," Sakuma turned, his eyes dark with anger, "Don't ever approach me again."

The tears flowed over, tracing lines down her face, but Sakuma didn't notice, he was already walking away, the tense set of his back the only thing she could see.

She swallowed her sobs and stared at him for a few seconds longer, watching her last friend leave – because Sakuma _had_ become her friend in the meals they'd shared, laughing at jokes and debating various topics. She had even been beginning to like him, if the butterflies dancing in her stomach were any indication.

_Destined to be alone, Chi-chan_, Kichi heard an old rival sneer in the back of her mind.

She let go of the last of her self-control and the tears raged as she wept, running past the fields and through the commons to the forest, the only place left for her to cry. Her friends had fought and this time she didn't think they could make up. The guy she liked thought she was a slut.

Ignoring the warning signs deep in her despair, Kichi wondered how it could get any worse.

* * *

"How much longer, Kuraki-hime?"

"If you have done as I told you and neutralized the children, it will only be a few more hours."

"Yes, Kuraki-hime. We live to obey."

* * *

Akane groaned as her stomach rebelled against her, forcing her to stop and lean against a nearby tree trunk. She felt sick and close to throwing up – drinking water and eating a few bites of chocolate to soothe her stomach had only made it worse.

As a last-ditch effort, she decided to take a walk, hoping that the peacefulness of nature would calm her upset stomach and even more importantly, calm her upset mind.

She knew that her friends had mixed reactions on learning that Hiroto was gay, but they had been supportive when Akane had told them. To learn their true feelings was a complete and utter shock.

Her stomach roiled again and Akane desperately massaged it, close to tears. It felt like everything was falling apart in front of her and Akane sank down to sit on the mossy ground, trying not to cry.

She had no idea that her problems were about to become ten times worse.

* * *

Tsuki walked absently to the commons. Her mind had thrown every last distraction at her to keep her from thinking about the fight, and she had fixated on the symbol.

She was sure that she'd seen it somewhere. She ignored the part of her that burned in shame at her mother's rebukes and delved into her memories, trying to remember what her mother had told her.

'_Two arrows with a snake in between…'_

Tsuki closed her eyes and concentrated, drawing up a memory of when she'd been around six years old, when her mother had drawn a symbol in front of both her and her brother and explained what it meant in no uncertain terms.

'_This is the symbol of Serpentine. It is a corporation that is influential, wealthy and ruthless. It is _dangerous_. If you see this symbol anywhere, _run_. Run as fast as you can and call me or your father. Trust no one else.'_

Serpentine. Tsuki froze, all thoughts of going to the commons ignored. How could she forget the warnings her mother repeated so often in her childhood?

Serpentine was dangerous. Serpentine was deadly. Serpentine was willing to do anything it took to get what they wanted, including and not limited to murder.

Serpentine was _here._

Tsuki did an about-turn and walked back to her cabin, intent on calling her mother the minute she was behind the relative safety of the cabin walls.

Behind her, someone screamed.

* * *

Hiroe gloomily scuffed the dirt with her shoes. They were at some kind of a mandatory meeting where the camp director waffled on about the merits of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Normally, she would have been paying attention, but she was sitting all alone on a log and was finding it quite difficult to listen without hearing Akane's sarcasm and Kichi's quips and Shiori's taunting.

In fact, she was so concerned about her friends and so distracted in her thoughts of the fight that might have consumed their friendship, that she thoroughly disregarded her father's lessons on keeping her eyes and ears on.

If she had, she might've noticed how all the counselors seemed nervous, fidgeting and shooting significant glances at each other as Nakanishi-sensei droned on, oblivious. The more obvious of them were checking their watches every few seconds.

If she had, she might've noticed the dark-haired woman standing just outside the ring of light provided by the bonfire, blending into the shadows.

But Hiroe didn't realize that something was wrong until the dark-haired woman stalked up to the center of the circle and slit Nakanishi-sensei's throat.

* * *

…_wish for_

* * *

**a/n:** And this is officially where it transitions from humor to horror. Don't worry, there will still be humor.

Some points to explain,

- The symbol, to clarify, is two crossed arrows forming an X-mark, with a snake, the squiggly line, down the center. Not altogether that impressive, but there is a theory that only lunatics are accepted into Serpentine. This theory will be confirmed later on, in volume two of the Pyromaniac saga.

- Yes, Shiori's wish is what the chapter title refers to.

- Akane is rather stupid at times, especially when it concerns her beloved chocolate.

I hope you enjoyed this cliffhanger! Everyone who wants to know what happened, just click for the next chapter.


	4. all's well

**a/n: **Rather simple plot with an equally short climax and a neat ending. Plot ties will get wrapped up and everyone will forget their differences in order to work together to save themselves. [Basically a typical Inazuma Eleven plot.] Enjoy – hopefully the humor is well dispersed among the suspense.

**dedication:** To my best friend on her eighteenth birthday and to the original six who inspired this story.

**summary:** It only takes one spark to start a fire. – Pyromaniac, volume 1.

* * *

**ignite**

**chapter four – **_**all's well**_

* * *

The first drops of rain began falling the second Nakanishi Miya hit the ground, dead.

* * *

There were a few moments of complete silence as the rain grew in intensity, blood mixing with water to form a red puddle at Kuraki's feet.

Then someone screamed – Kuraki didn't know who it was, didn't care. The sound of the horrified shriek galvanized everyone else into action – Ryu led the counselors behind her as the children got up and ran, terrified. Kuraki hid a smile as she saw green, nauseated faces – Ryu's plan had worked well.

"Are we just going to let them go, Kuraki-sama?" Kaya asked as she fell in step at her left hand.

Kuraki scanned the mass of fleeing children, but couldn't catch the glimpse of blonde hair and a rounded face. "Why not?" her lips curved into a smile as the knife in her hands dripped blood, "Where can they go?"

Thunder boomed and lightning crackled above them as screams rent the air.

* * *

Fear. It lay over all of them, choking them in its oppressive aura. Hiroe took a breath and nearly suffocated, barely hidden panic and terror settling on her skin like a film.

She expected it – welcomed it, lessening its impact.

Not the presence of the murderer – no, that had been completely out of the blue and Hiroe had pushed away the part of her mind that screamed _'Kuraki Hana'_ on a never-ending reel.

But fear and panic was expected and acknowledging it dulled its impact.

"Still no reception," Natsumi snapped her phone shut, casting a nervous glance to the door, barred by one of the bunk beds pushed up against the wall. Aki linked an arm with Natsumi's trembling one and led her to where the other girls were leaning, half-asleep, against the wall.

"The storm is showing no sign of letting up," Fudou said hoarsely, staring out of the window into the pouring rain.

"What do we do?" Aki bit her lip, looking towards Hiroe. She realized that the rest of them seemed to see her as the leader after she took charge at the beginning.

"Try again," Hiroe directed to Natsumi, feeling helpless. Sure, she had directed all the remaining students to come into her cabin, and she had the idea to bar the door but she'd been unable to stop Sakuma and Gouenji from leaving when it was clear that Akane and Kichi were missing.

She listened to the dial tone signaling no reception as Natsumi tried again and again. They couldn't even call anyone outside their cabin to see if they were safe. Hiroe thought she'd seen Saginuma leading his siblings towards a different cabin but the rain had started coming down in sheets and she'd finally given up on finding anyone else.

"We should make a run for it," Genda suggested and Hiroe gave a start – she'd thought he was asleep. She saw eyes glinting under half-shut lids and realized – perhaps rather foolishly – that none of them were asleep, that none of them _could_ sleep, having just witnessed a murder.

"Run where?" Fudou shot back, his eyes never leaving the window. They had found nothing to bar the window with and decided to mount an armed guard.

If a half-empty bottle of pepper spray and a soccer ball were considered weapons. Then again, considering the rather violent plays executed in soccer, the football may as well be.

"To the gates," Genda said reasonably, "If we reach them –"

"Then what?" Rika asked, "We walk all the way back to Tokyo?"

"And there's only nine of us," Kidou brought up, "What happens to the other fifteen?"

"I saw some people going to the other cabins," Hiroe weakly interjected. There was a few moments of silence as everyone dismissed her unconvincing explanation and thought of the implications of fifteen frightened children running around with a killer on the loose.

"They could be past our help," Natsumi said softly.

"They're not dead," Kidou said forcefully, "Don't even think that."

"That was _Kuraki Hana_, Kidou," Natsumi shouted and Hiroe gaped – she thought she was the only one who recognized the serial killer, "She killed _twenty_ people in twenty-seven days! You think she'd care about killing twenty more?"

Judging by the utter lack of surprise, _everyone_ had figured out who the murderess was.

Well, that explained the rather…_intense_ feeling of terror that had saturated the walls.

"You want to believe your classmates are dead?" Kidou replied softly.

"I don't want to believe in false hope."

"Right now, Raimon-san," Fudou said quietly, "I don't think we have much of a choice."

Hiroe was just about to agree with him when she saw something move in the darkness outside the window. She froze, trying to make sure that it wasn't a reflection – due to the storm outside and the bright light on the inside, the window had turned into a mirror.

"What?" Kidou said sharply, noticing her complete lack of movement.

"Something moved," Fudou answered and Hiroe felt her heart stutter at the confirmation of whatever she saw, "Someone's moving out there, in the forest."

"In the forest?" Aki asked fearfully, "What are they doing in there? If they're just going to kill us, why haven't they broken in here yet?"

It was a very good question – there were six counselors with Kuraki, armed with god-knows-what. It should've been child's play to overpower nine terrified children, unless –

"Unless they're _not_ trying to kill us all," Hiroe voiced out loud, "They're looking for someone."

And for that person's sake, Hiroe hoped they'd never find them.

* * *

Akane finished retching and knelt there for a moment, breathing through her mouth to avoid the sickening smell of vomit. Water dripped from the branches above her, drenching her clothes and turning the dirt she knelt on to mud, sucking her knees in as she tried to stand up.

Staggering to her feet, she leaned on a tree branch, trying to catch her breath. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as her stomach roiled. Stepping out of the shelter the tree provided, Akane cupped her hands and washed her face with the rainwater that pooled in them. She rinsed her mouth a few times to get rid of the taste of bile before finally swallowing a gulp of cool, pure water.

She felt terrible. She'd thrown up no less then eight times, until her stomach was empty and there was nothing left to expel. Something had made her feel violently sick. And despite rumors to the contrary, Akane was a brilliant student and more than capable of adding two and two to get four.

She cursed herself as she thought of the opened chocolate and Ryu's slippery smile.

'_Don't take candy from strangers.'_

It was funny how everyone thought that childhood rules never applied when they were grown up.

Akane wearily began to move back to the commons, vowing to herself to never blindly accept things again, even if it _was_ chocolate.

But Akane was too tired to strain her eyes to see in the dark, her glasses blurred over with the rain. Removing them, she futilely attempted to dry them on her soaked shirt. There was a brief second of illumination as lightning flashed and the resulting clap of thunder almost drowned out the sound of approaching footsteps.

Akane was about to put her glasses back on when lightning flashed again, forking across the dark sky. In that half-second of light, she saw someone standing in front of her – a dark-haired woman with a murderous smile – holding a knife dripping with red blood.

'_I WILL KILL THOSE WHO STAND IN MY PATH.'_

The thunder boomed and Akane started, flinching back and freezing when her neck came into contact with something very, very thin and very, very sharp.

"And where do you think you're going, Higashiyama-kun?" Ryu chuckled in her ear as Akane fought to breathe against the knife at her throat, her tears mixing with rain as terror and panic vied for supremacy.

She remembered where she'd seen the symbol. Lai had worn it, shortly before she'd run off to the other side of the world. Mai had chased it, shortly before she followed her sister in vanishing – this time, permanently.

Akane thought of two crossed arrows and a hissing snake as the knife pressed harder.

* * *

"There's something out there," Kogure bit his lip and withdrew deeper into Otonashi's comforting embrace, "I saw it move."

Reina shot him a mildly disbelieving look and snorted. Shiori agreed with her – it was impossible to see anything in the reflecting window. Nagumo narrowed his eyes from his perch on top of the bed they'd pushed against the door.

"There's nothing out there," Otonashi said calmly, reassuring him with a confidence created by years of practice. Shiori thought of the rumors surrounding the infamous Raimon Eleven and wondered what had _truly_ happened.

"I saw it!" Kogure shouted, sounding close to panic, "I'm telling you, I saw something move."

"It's probably just a tree, or something," Kazemaru dismissed, lounging on the bottom bunk next to Suzuno, "It's a really big storm." Shiori avoided Suzuno's eyes, turned and met Seka's narrowed glare before returning to her perusal of the floorboards.

"IT'S NOT!" Kogure shouted, looking terrified. Everyone flinched at the outburst as Otonashi continued to reassure him in a soothing voice.

"I'll – I'll check it out, Kogure-kun," Shiori volunteered, needing to find a distraction from Seka's burning glares and Suzuno's silent apologies. No one seemed to care but Kogure, who blinked orange eyes at her, peeking out of Otonashi's embrace.

Shiori walked up to the window, squinting against the reflection. She couldn't see anything. However, Kogure was clearly panicking and if checking the window helped him, so be it.

Shiori pressed her face against the window, preparing to squint her eyes to see into the darkness…

And was met with a grinning face, eyes lit up with delight as lips curved into a bloodthirsty smile.

Shiori screamed and instantly scrambled back from the window. She'd barely staggered back a few steps before she stumbled into someone, the scent of peppermint reaching her brain and deactivating the impulse to struggle free. She let Suzuno place a comforting hand on her shoulder as a flashlight clicked on outside, illuminating the woman who Shiori had seen.

Everyone was on their feet, tense, as the woman raised a red-splattered hand and began writing on the window, the rain pattering against it to erase the letters almost as fast as the woman wrote them. The letters were backwards and only the faintest trace remained when the woman was finished, periodically going back to her knife to replenish her blood ink, but the message was crystal clear.

The woman – Kuraki Hana, how had Shiori not seen it before? – gave one last dazzling smile before clicking off the flashlight and vanishing into darkness.

Shiori gave a muffled sob before turning back and burying her head into Suzuno's chest, letting his hands curl around her and hold her tightly. Right now, she could care less about what Seka would think, about Suzuno's betrayal, about anything but the overwhelming fear that she would die.

_YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER…_

* * *

Kichi was miserable. It was one in the morning, it was pouring rain, all of her friends hated her and to top it all off, she _still_ hadn't stopped crying.

Kichi gave up on trying to stem the flow of her tears and leaned back, the rough bark digging into her lower back. The branch she had climbed at the beginning had been dry, though the sudden onslaught of rain had nearly drowned her, forcing her to move to a branch much closer to the ground.

Her only consolation was that no one was there to witness her complete breakdown.

"Kichi-san!" someone hissed in the darkness.

Kichi almost groaned. It seemed like even the universe was laughing at her.

"Kichi-san!" the person hissed again, sounding afraid to keep their voice above a whisper. Kichi narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember where she had last heard that familiar tone…

"Kichi-san, are you there?"

'_Never approach me again.'_

Kichi nearly hissed back when she realized that it was Sakuma blundering through the darkness. Swelling with self-righteous fury – how _dare_ he come looking for her after he called her a whore? – she nastily thought of insults in her head as he continued calling her name, sounding increasingly desperate.

"Kichi-san, please," he sounded like he was begging, his voice close enough to be under the tree she was perched on, "You _have_ to be here."

_I _have_ to, huh?_ Kichi thought snidely.

"Please," he said softly, "Because if you're not here – if you're not here then…"

_Then what?_ Against her will, Kichi leaned closer.

There was a long pause before Sakuma spoke again, this time full of determination, "You aren't dead. You _can't_ be dead and I _will_ find you."

"Why would I be dead?"

Sakuma shrieked and looked up to where Kichi was lounging on the branch, staring down at his shadowy figure. A small part of her brain, the part that thought that Sakuma deserved the deepest pits of hell for rejecting her so cruelly – a very large part, then – snickered gleefully at his shock.

"Kichi-san!" She couldn't see his face, but she could her his happiness, "You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive," Kichi tried to sound as haughty as she could, pushing away the part of her that fluttered in joy at the happiness in Sakuma's voice, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Her tone was skeptical and disbelieving but there was a grave silence after her words.

Sakuma sighed, "Kuraki Hana is here."

* * *

"Where _is_ that little bitch?" a voice snarled before a loud crashing sound was heard. Tsuki tightened the hand she'd clasped over her mouth and tried to inch further away from the angry shouts, attempting to melt into the cabin wall.

"Calm down, Luka –"

"We've searched _all_ the cabins! Kuraki-sama and Ryu-san are combing the forest and if we don't have the traitorous piece of shit by then, Kuraki-sama will have our heads!"

There was silence after his words, accompanied by labored breathing. Tsuki closed her eyes and let her tears silently drip to the floor.

"We haven't searched all the cabins," another voice pointed out, sounding much more reasonable.

"All but two," a different voice chipped in, "And those are only because they are full of students."

"We can take a couple of kids."

"Ordinary kids, perhaps," someone snorted, "But I assure you, these students are far too used to violence to be intimidated by us."

"This is all Maiko's fault!" Another crashing sound was heard. "It's because of that fucking slut that Serpentine lost its former glory! We were kings and queens of the corporate world!"

"And we're going to teach her a lesson," someone replied soothingly, "But to do that, we need to find her daughter. And we've searched this cabin twice."

They had. Tsuki remembered hearing terrified screams from the commons. She'd locked the door and – after a few seconds of deliberation – hid under one of the bunk beds. They were rather low, big enough for a small child or an exceptionally thin teenager, but definitely not large enough to fit an adult. She supposed that was why none of the counselors had yet bothered to look under it.

She had been utterly terrified when they'd come the first time, unable to breathe and stuffing her fist into her mouth to stop the screams that threatened to escape. She'd nearly fainted when the other bunk bed hit the floor and smashed into pieces. After they left, she spent five-minute intervals trying to call her mother, her father, the police, _anyone_.

"We should just fucking set all of them on fire," the man – Luka, Tsuki presumed – replied, "There would be nowhere to hide, then."

"In the rain?" another voice laughed, "That would be quite the feat."

"And besides, Kuraki doesn't want everyone dead," someone else said, "Diplomacy always runs smoother with leverage and that leverage ends if we kill them all."

"Fuck the leverage," Luka snarled, "I'm going to go check the administrative office again before I find some fucking matches and set this whole damn camp on fire."

Tsuki could hear his heavy footsteps leave the room. The other counselors followed him, muttering insults about his hot-headedness.

Tsuki breathed a sigh of relief – and choked on that sigh as a face appeared in the gap between the lower bunk and the floor.

It was a woman, staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face even as Tsuki's eyes went wide. She stopped breathing, afraid that if she'd draw a breath, she'd start screaming. Her heart started pounding as the woman continued to look at her blankly. She was about to close her eyes and pray for a quick death when the woman spoke.

"Tell Maiko that Shidehara knows where her loyalties _truly_ lie," the woman said quietly, before standing up and walking out of the room.

Tsuki watched the blank space of air, now dark, the woman's words echoing in her ears even as her heart rate slowed.

Tsuki watched, and thought of a mother who seemed to be hiding more than she'd let on.

* * *

"How is this comfortable?" Sakuma squirmed around, dislodging small bits of bark and shifting on the branch before Kichi's patience finally ran dry.

"There is a serial killer in this camp with six followers," Kichi spat through gritted teeth, "There is no cell phone reception. There is a storm the likes of which I've never seen. And I'm _drenched_. I am _not_ trying to be comfortable – I am trying to _stay alive_."

Sakuma fell silent and Kichi belatedly realized that she'd interjected a lot of bitterness and venom into her words. It didn't matter – it served him right, anyway, for pretending like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't essentially told her to go fuck herself a few hours ago.

And okay, _maybe_ Sakuma's allegations did have a ring of truth to him – she _was_ trying to get close to him to seduce him – but that gave him no right to talk to her like that.

Scowling, Kichi shivered again as a gust of cold wind blew through the leaves. This was all Akane's fault, Kichi decided, huddling closer to the trunk as the wind grew in intensity, freezing her wet clothes and raising goosebumps on her skin.

"I'm sorry," Sakuma said abruptly, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be out here."

"What?" Kichi's teeth chattered as she tried to follow his train of thought.

"I…apologize for saying the words I said," Sakuma said shortly, "I was angry and I came to the wrong conclusions, I –"

"Stop, Sakuma-san," Kichi squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't going to sit there and accept his apology when _she_ was the one in the wrong. "I – you didn't come to the wrong conclusions."

There was a long silence and Kichi resisted the temptation to look at the expression on Sakuma's face.

"…Excuse me?"

"You didn't come to the wrong conclusions, Sakuma-san," Kichi said quietly, "I was getting to know you to seduce you. It was a dare. I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry, Sakuma-san."

The silence persisted and Kichi opened her eyelids a crack to see Sakuma's utterly betrayed expression. She quickly shut them again.

When Sakuma spoke again, his voice was composed, "Why?"

"Because I –" Kichi paused, thinking. Why _had_ she agreed to the bet? What had she been _thinking_?

"Because you…?"

"I was drunk?" Kichi offered lamely, inwardly berating herself for her stupidity. Because she had gone and accepted Akane's stupid dare, she lost a chance to get to know someone who was both kind and witty and handsome –

Oh, god. Just what she needed right now. A _crush_.

"I see," Sakuma said noncommittally, "Well, if that's all, we should really try and find the serial killer so we can get out of here."

"Oh, there's no need for that. The serial killer's found you."

Kichi shrieked and nearly fell off her branch. Sakuma muttered a few curse words under his breath as a flashlight clicked on, illuminating them all in bright light.

Kuraki Hana grinned at them both, "And just when I was thinking that I wouldn't get to have any fun." Kichi couldn't tear her gaze away from the woman – the pictures she'd seen on the television were of a woman half-deranged. She never expected the infamous Tokyo Killer to look so…_normal_.

Sakuma glared down at her, looking more angry than terrified. Kichi wished she could borrow his courage as she hurriedly tore her eyes away from the smiling murderer and examined the ground.

"If you would be so kind to climb down from the tree, kiddies?" Kuraki chuckled, "I'm not as young as I once was, you know." Ryu smirked at that – Kuraki didn't look a day over thirty.

Kichi heard Sakuma retort back, but his words faded out as Kichi's eyes landed on a bundle in the mud, odd shadows casting on it due to the flashlight Kuraki held.

It took her a few moments to realize that the bundle was a _person_.

"Akane!" Kichi shrieked, recognizing dark hair and crooked glasses and pale skin with a flame tattoo on her right shoulder. Sakuma cut off whatever he was saying and joined her in staring at her unmoving best friend in disbelief.

"What did you do to her?" Kichi's eyes were as wide as saucers as she lifted her gaze to Kuraki.

"She's not dead, sweetie," Kuraki said with a hint of mirth, "Why would I drag a dead body through pouring rain?" Kichi felt the strong sensation of relief flood through her body at a force strong enough to turn her dizzy. However, a part of her still labored under skepticism.

"She fainted," Ryu added, correctly interpreting Kichi's doubt.

"Let her go," Kichi replied, trying not to let her voice tremble. Beside her, Sakuma slowly shifted into a guarded position.

"Let her go?" Kuraki repeated with an air of disbelief, "Let her go, when she's the only person Lai-chan cares about? I think not, sweetie."

Kichi dimly recognized the name, but she ignored it, trying to glare at the murderer, "I said, _let her go_!"

"I will," Kuraki smiled back at her, and for a second, Kichi felt hope. "If you climb down from your little perch, sweetie." Before it was dashed into despair.

"If you both don't come down, I'll kill her," Ryu narrowed his eyes before whipping out a knife.

"You just said you needed her!" Kichi nearly screamed, her eyes tracking the blade as Ryu spun it in his fingers.

"I'm a serial killer, sweetie, who knows what I'll do?" Kuraki almost purred, the sound sending icy shivers down Kichi's spine. Kichi saw the conviction in her eyes and took a step down to the branch just below her before the rational part of her mind realized what she was doing.

"Kichi, stop. She's not going to keep her promise," Sakuma hissed at her, "She's just going to take you too!"

"I know," Kichi said sadly, reaching out to another branch, "But Akane's my best friend." She thought of the horrible fight they had, and the unforgivable things Akane had said – and she remembered all the memories of the times when they were happy, laughing, having fun.

She wondered why everyone insisted on only remembering the bad, instead of the countless times when they'd gone to parties, and amusement parks and walks at the park and even in school, laughing at things that only made sense if you had been there.

"I can't watch her die," Kichi said finally and continued to descend. The sound of snapping twigs above her confirmed that Sakuma was following her and Kichi felt a little burst of happiness in the dark pit of horror.

She touched the ground and smoothed over her soaked clothes, removing the wet leaves that clung to her skin. Sakuma dropped beside her, his stance wary.

Kichi followed his line of sight to see something moving in the gloom behind Kuraki and Ryu. She strained her eyes, but the flashlight's bream was too strong. "I see that you care about your friend very much," Kuraki said, saccharine, before suddenly dropping like a stone.

"And they're not the only ones," a voice snarled from the trees. The flashlight spun as it fell from Kuraki's hand and illuminated Gouenji, bouncing a soccer ball on his knee and looking completely and utterly _murderous_.

Kichi squeaked and hid behind Sakuma.

Gouenji shifted his glare to Ryu, who did an admirable job of holding his composure under the unrestrained fury of the flame striker. He held his knife in front of him and opened his mouth to speak –

Before crumpling to the ground, a large rock sliding off his head.

The three of them blinked and looked left to see Akane dusting off her hands with a very satisfied look on her face. "What?" she said, meeting their disbelieving looks, "You didn't think that I _actually_ fainted, did you?"

Kichi's palm hit her forehead with a distinct slapping sound.

"Why did you pretend to faint, Higashiyama-san?" Sakuma asked her, looking skeptical. Gouenji looked sullen that his damsel-in-distress had not actually needed any rescuing.

"What, you thought I was going to _walk_?" Akane snorted. There was another distinct slapping sound.

"Why did I even bother?" Gouenji muttered.

"So you could look like utter fail in comparison to my awesomeness," Akane informed him.

Sakuma caught a hold of Kichi's hand before she slapped herself again.

"Well, then, I was listening to your plan," Akane said, grinning, while Gouenji slumped in a corner, looking angsty and – were those _mushrooms_?

"Finding serial killer, check. Incapacitating said serial killer, check. Now we just have to leave."

However, when they reached the edge of the tree line, five minutes, Kichi realized that the last part was not as easy as it sounded.

"Now what, O Wise One?" Gouenji said snidely, apparently recovered from his momentary despair.

"I didn't factor the remaining counselors into my plan," Akane said sheepishly.

"You had a plan?" Kichi voiced skeptically.

"…It was mostly just strolling out of the gates."

Gouenji looked like it was taking all his willpower to not follow in Kichi's footsteps and facepalm at Akane's sheer lunacy.

"There might've been a dance number worked into it and I wanted to push Gouenji off a cliff, but I was still working on how to fit that in."

Gouenji gave in to the temptation.

Kichi snickered. There might've been merit in Tsuki's theory after all – she'd gotten sick and tired of Akane always complaining about Gouenji and she'd be much less of a stuck-up bitch if she finally got laid.

But – _egg_. Kichi furiously willed away those mental pictures.

"So, new plan?" Sakuma interjected weakly, obviously not having much frontline exposure to Akane's and Gouenji's fights.

"We need some place to hide before we can call the police," Kichi muttered absently, checking her phone for reception. Still zero bars.

"That's easy – the cabins," Gouenji pointed at two cabins that had lights glowing in the windows.

"Not going to work," Sakuma voiced, "Firstly, they're not going to let us in and secondly, the counselors would be able to see us." Sakuma pointed at the five people clustered in the area between the cabins and the forest.

"Alright, then we'll go into this cabin," Gouenji waved a hand at the cabin directly in front of them.

Sakuma eyed it critically, before glancing back to the counselors, "They can still see us."

"Doesn't matter," Gouenji shrugged, "We'll get in before they can reach us. Then we'll barricade the door and we'll be set!"

There was a pause as everyone considered this theory. Kichi had to admit, it wasn't a half bad plan.

"That's not going to work," Akane said quietly.

"Why not?" Gouenji bristled at her, as if daring her to say that it was because _he_ had suggested it.

Akane pointed to the counselors and adjusted her glasses. Kichi followed her line of sight to one of the counselors, who laughed and waved something metallic in the air. "They have guns."

Gouenji and Sakuma fell silent.

"Now what are we going to do?" Kichi said nervously, biting her lip.

"They're not very organized," Sakuma replied, "This – this…whatever this _is_, it hasn't been planned. If we get into the cabin, we'll probably be safe until we can phone for help."

"The only problem is getting into the cabin," Akane finished.

"We need a distraction," Gouenji mused.

"Have any bright ideas?" Akane snapped.

Gouenji smiled sadly, "As a matter of fact, I do." Walking up to Akane, he pressed her against a tree and kissed her heatedly. Withdrawing after a few seconds, he grinned at her stunned expression, "I've always wanted to do that."

Sakuma gawked. Kichi drooped – she now owed Shiori a hundred yen.

"Watch for the flames," he told Sakuma, before disappearing in the trees.

Akane didn't seem to be breathing. Kichi waved her hand in front of her face a few times before giving her up as a lost cause. Sakuma watched the treeline like a hawk as the rain turned from flooding to a drizzle.

Suddenly, bright yellow fire bloomed in the stormy sky.

Kichi stared, amazed, as Sakuma ushered them quickly across the clearing to reach the cabin. None of the counselors were looking their way and they were able to reach the cabin door, Kichi dragging a dazed Akane behind them.

Sakuma tried the door and cursed – it was locked. Shooting a quick glance at the counselors, who were arguing about something and waving hands in the direction of Gouenji's hissatsu, Sakuma twisted the doorknob again.

"Sakuma, _hurry_," Kichi hissed, watching as one or two of the counselors turned in their direction.

"I'm trying," he snapped, before quietly knocking on the door, "Please open the door! Quickly!"

There was the sound of light footsteps and the door was unlocked to give enough space to fit a pair of suspicious black eyes. Midorikawa narrowed his eyes at them, until he realized who they were. Looking at the counselors, he opened the door wider and let them in, locking it behind them.

"What are you guys _doing_?" he hissed and Sakuma answered him while Kichi looked around at the complete and utter mess of the room. The beds were strewn everywhere and suitcases were upended. Tsuki was perched on the only surviving bunk bed, her eyes red.

"How _dare_ he?" Akane suddenly hissed and Kichi warily edged away at the homicidal aura surrounding her. "How dare he sacrifice himself? The little arrogant piece of shit, always wanting to play _hero_ –" Kichi blinked in surprise. It seemed like Shiori was right – Akane was truly unable to go five minutes without fighting.

Sakuma raised an eyebrow, "Is she always like that?"

"You get used to it," Kichi informed him, realizing that they were having a conversation like nothing was wrong. Sakuma seemed to come to the same realization quickly enough and turned away from her.

"Sakuma-san," Kichi said quietly, trying not to let her voice squeak. If Gouenji had gotten the guts to kiss Akane and risk her ripping his face off, the least she could do was tell Sakuma how she really felt.

"I'm sorry about the dare," Kichi bowed her head, "It's true that I started to talk to you because of it – but that's not the only reason. I became friends with you and – and," Kichi took a deep breath, "And I started liking you. I'm sorry. By the time you confronted me, I was not planning to go through with the dare." Kichi thought back to the happiness she felt when he'd walk up to her – she wasn't willing to throw that away.

She bowed to him, "I'm sorry, and I hope someday you can forgive me."

Sakuma didn't answer, but Kichi hadn't really expected a reply. Walking over to Tsuki and Akane, she left Sakuma alone with his thoughts, desperately hoping that everything would work out.

* * *

"Satoya-san!" Hiroe jerked awake, her eyelids feeling heavy as she stood up from her cramped position against the wall.

"Wha – what?" Hiroe yawned and blinked bleary eyes at an excited Natsumi. The storm had lessened, the sound of raindrops conspicuously absent as the sky lightened.

"There's reception!" Natsumi said brightly, holding her phone out so that Hiroe could hear the rings. There was a click as a professional female voice entered the line, asking them to state their emergency.

Natsumi hurriedly turned back to the phone, their classmates waking up in the aura of heightened anticipation. Hiroe whipped out her own phone, and entered speed dial one.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring –_

"_Hiroe?"_ She could hear her father's voice, hoarse with sleep. _"Hiroe, it's five in the morning. Why are you calling me now?"_

"Kuraki Hana," Hiroe blurted out, nearly swaying with the relief of hearing her father's reassuring tone, "She's here. At the camp. She killed the camp director."

There was a long pause before her father answered. _"Hiroe, it's too early for prank calls."_

"Otousama, I'm serious," Hiroe interjected, "Kuraki Hana is here. Some of my classmates have already begun calling the police. She has the counselors on her side."

"_Alright, Hiroe. I'll be there in a few hours. Remember, stay somewhere safe and easily defensible and do no hesitate to kill if you're threatened."_

"Yes, Otousama," Hiroe smiled, trembling with the respite from fear, "Come quickly."

Her father murmured his agreement and Hiroe ended the call, smiling. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

…_that ends well_

* * *

**a/n:** Yay, happy ending! /pauses/ What, you expected something else?

And something I've always found a little disconcerting in the Inazuma Eleven fandom. You're telling me that these kids have kicks that are powerful enough to _destroy_ nets and they don't use that power outside of football? Please.


	5. the happy ending depends

**a/n:** And now we come to the conclusion! This wraps up everything and ends the story on the note that started it. However, if you've noticed, Seka's point of view is conspicuously absent from the previous chapter and no one's said anything about the huge fight that they had. Shiori got her wish – due to Kuraki Hana's interference, everyone decided to let the fight go.

But in real life, resentment doesn't fade that easily. It festers in the dark and pushing it aside will only make it stronger.

Without further ado, the last chapter in **ignite**, first volume of the Pyromaniac saga!

**dedication:** To my best friend on her eighteenth birthday and to the original six who inspired this story.

**summary:** It only takes one spark to start a fire. – Pyromaniac, volume 1.

* * *

**ignite**

**chapter five – **_**the happy ending depends**_

* * *

"So, everything turned out all right?" Kichi was unable to keep a small smile from her face as Sakuma joined her on the log.

"As well as it could, considering that Kuraki Hana was here," Kichi replied, looking over the crowd.

She could see Tsuki with her mother, both of them looking completely relieved. Akane was yelling at Gouenji, who looked more than happy to sit there and take her insults. Hiroe's father was speaking to the police as the paramedics loaded Nakanishi Miya's dead body onto a stretcher. Judging by the sour expression on Hiroe's face, she didn't like what she was hearing. Shiori and Suzuno sat nervously together – Seka was conspicuously absent. A few of the policemen were going around and taking everyone's statements, making sure that everyone was present and accounted for.

"I'd sleep a lot better if she hadn't escaped," Sakuma scowled, "We should made sure they were fully unconscious."

"And risk getting caught by the other counselors?" Kichi raised an eyebrow, "I'm just grateful that they caught these four. Tsuki was terrified by what they were saying."

There was a content silence as Kichi watched policemen check off on all the parents who wanted to immediately take their kids home. Her parents had still not been informed and if Kichi had her way, they'd never be – she was one of the few who was going back by bus.

"I forgive you."

Kichi blinked in surprise at the sudden statement and turned to look at Sakuma, whose face was steadily growing redder.

"What?"

"I forgive you," Sakuma repeated stiffly, "And – and I like you too."

Kichi beamed at him, a heavy weight lifting from her chest, "That's – that's great! Thank you for forgiving me!"

"And," Sakuma turned an even darker shade of red. Kichi gleefully rejoiced that it wasn't her that was blushing, "And about the dare."

"It's okay," Kichi waved it off, "Akane probably forgot all about it."

"But if she _didn't_," Sakuma's grin turned sly, "Well, I wouldn't want my new girlfriend to lose, now would I?"

It was Kichi's cue to turn into a fetching shade of crimson.

"No," Kichi smiled so widely her face hurt, her tone laced with innuendo even as she blushed, "No, I guess you wouldn't."

This was all Akane's fault, Kichi thought as Sakuma kissed her, effectively turning off all her thought processes. It was her dare that sent them to this camp and it was at the camp that Kuraki Hana appeared and it was due to Kuraki Hana that Kichi nearly died. And because Kichi nearly died, Kichi now had a boyfriend. …Perhaps that wasn't exactly how it went.

However, it was indeed Akane's fault –

But Kichi wasn't complaining.

* * *

…_on where you stop the story_

* * *

**a/n:** And we reach the end! I find myself shipping Kichi/Sakuma almost as much as I ship Akane/Gouenji. [And the Kichi/Sakuma was all for you, Juice!] This is the first volume, I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to label it a prequel, as it is so short.

The next volume takes place four to five years after the ending of **ignite**. It was previously known as **Sparks of Despair **and will now be known as **flare**. **Sparks of Despair** will remain up until I post the first chapter of **flare**, which will probably be in a few months.

**flare **will deal with Serpentine, and the consequences of the huge fight among these six friends. It will also delve into the corporate world, as many of these kids grow up and take the roles in the companies their parents own.

I hope you enjoyed **ignite** and I hope you will read **flare**!

And happy [four months belated] birthday, Juice!


End file.
